Why?

Why?

Why was Job so severely tested? Because God had such great confidence in him; because God knew that he was so patient and faithful that he would bear it; because God loved him so deeply that He desired to save him to the uttermost; because God follows His own law that the one who has shall be given even more; because it was worthwhile for God to work with him.

Why was Jeremiah the man who had seen affliction, who was led into darkness, who was set up as a target for God’s arrow, who was given wormwood and gall to drink? Lam. 3:1-20. Because he could bear it (1 Cor. 10:13) and thus be led into a deeper salvation; because he was worth all this extra care; because he was very precious in God’s sight.

Why did Paul end up in so many and diverse troubles? Why did a messenger of Satan buffet him? Because God had so much confidence in him that he would react in the right way so that he, through an even deeper acknowledgment of himself, would obtain an even deeper salvation.

God spares nothing in order to mold His elect into the image of His Son. He sacrifices whatever it takes to do it. He even gives men for you, dear soul, because you are so inexpressibly precious to Him. Isa. 43:4. You can expect anything; and when it comes, whatever it might be, you now know why.