A Fifth Plea
Oh, but that affliction that comes upon me is an affliction that I never looked for; I never thought to have met with such an affliction, and that is what I know not how to bear; that is that which makes my heart so disquieted because it was altogether unlooked for and unexpected.
For the answer to this, first, it is your weakness and folly that you did not look for it and expect it. In Acts, 20:22, 23, see what Saint Paul says concerning himself: And now behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there, save that the Holy Ghost witnesses in every City saying, that bonds and afflictions abide me. It is true, says he, I know not the particular affliction that may befall me, but this I know: that the Spirit of God witnesses that bonds and afflictions shall abide me everywhere. I look for nothing else but bonds and afflictions wheresoever I go. So a Christian should do; he should look for afflictions wheresoever he is; in all conditions he should look to meet with afflictions. And therefore, if any affliction should befall him, though indeed he could not foresee the particular evil, yet he should think, "This is no more than I looked for in the general." Therefore, no affliction should come unexpectedly to a Christian.
A second answer I would give is this: Is it unexpected? Then the less provision you made for it before it came, the more careful you should be to sanctify God's Name in it now it is come. It is in this case of afflictions as in mercies; many times mercy comes unexpected (and that might be a third answer) to you. Set one against the other: I have many mercies that I never looked for as well as afflictions that I never looked for; why should not one rejoice me as well as the other disturbs me? As it is in mercies, when they come unexpected, the less preparation there was in me for receiving mercy, the more need I have to be careful, now to give God the glory of the mercy, and to sanctify God's Name in the enjoyment of the mercy. Oh, so it should be with us now; we have had mercies this summer that we never expected and therefore we were not prepared for them, now we should be so much the more careful to give God the glory of them. So when afflictions come that we did not expect, then it seems we laid not in for them beforehand; we had need be the more careful to sanctify God's Name in them. We should have spent some pains before to prepare for afflictions and we did not, then take so much the more pains to sanctify God in this affliction now. And that is a fifth reasoning.
"But the affliction that has come upon me is one I never expected. I never thought I would face anything like this — and that is why I cannot bear it. My heart is so unsettled because it was completely unexpected."
In answer to this: first, it reveals weakness and folly that you did not expect it. In Acts 20:22-23, see what Paul says about himself: "And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that chains and afflictions await me." I do not know the particular form my affliction will take, he says, but this I know: the Spirit of God witnesses that chains and afflictions await me everywhere. He expected nothing else wherever he went. A Christian should be the same — expecting afflictions in every condition and every place. When any affliction comes, even if the specific form was not foreseen, the Christian should think: "This is no more than I expected in general." No affliction should come to a Christian as a complete surprise.
A second answer: if this affliction is unexpected, then the less preparation you made for it before it arrived, the more careful you should now be to honor God's name in it. It is the same with afflictions as with mercies. Many times mercies come unexpectedly — and that could be a third answer in itself. Set one against the other: I have received many mercies I never expected, just as I have received afflictions I never expected. Why should the one not rejoice me as much as the other disturbs me? With unexpected mercies, the less I prepared to receive them, the more careful I should be to give God the glory and to honor His name in the enjoyment of them. So it should be with us: we have received mercies this summer we never expected, and therefore we were not prepared for them — so we should be all the more diligent to give God the glory. When afflictions come that we did not expect, it shows we did not prepare for them beforehand. We should therefore be all the more careful to honor God's name in them now. We should have spent some effort preparing for afflictions and did not — then make up for it now by honoring God through this one. That is an answer to the fifth plea.
