The Cheerful & The Suffering (TMF:2182)

Tuesday, September 19, 2023
Peace to Live By: The Cheerful & The Suffering (TMF:2182) - Daniel Litton
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       Next, now in verse 13, we read, “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” James kind of looks at both ends of the spectrum here in regard to our mental state, as Christians, where we stand in our pursuit of happiness. On the one hand, there is the person who is suffering. On the other hand, we have the person who is cheerful, who is happy. Notice, right off the bat, that what is our goal? What does James say our wish, our desire, is to be? Which person are we to be like? Well, obviously, the cheerful person. We know because James goes on the say that the elders of a person’s church should be called to pray over them if they are suffering. This goes to show us that suffering is not be desired, then. It’s not our end goal. We don’t desire to suffer.