"... 11 O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. 12 And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones. 13 And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children..." Isa 54:3-13
"...3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; 4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. 5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. 6 And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. 7 And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation..." 2 Cor 2:3-7.
Partakers of The Sufferings and Consolation
LM
When there's water none to be found,
We lanquish thirsty, on this ground;
Our hope seems gone with howling wind,
There in despondency we bend.
Some we hear, cry "Lo here, Lo there;
Into the darkness we then stare;
But still no water to be found
Upon this dry and barren ground.
From here to there we roam about,
And sometimes feel that we must shout;
But know no answer's in this land,
For all around is barren sand.
For we have tasted of that well
That one-time in our hearts did swell;
But O, how long our heart seemed dry,
While over head, a brazen sky.
Were tossed with tempest, comfort gone,
And felt how far we were from home;
But still did pace there up and down
When on God's Face we saw a frown.
And with a burden were weighed down-
So in the dust our soul did drown;
Though others round us saw no storm,
And wondered why we weren't the norm;
This burden none have ever felt,
Till fleshly hope this sun has melt;
This thirst the world has never known;
This sorrow never made them moan.
Relief and rescue never find,
Till from this peril God unbind;
When, then a voice they shall hear
That gives a calm, allys their fear;
Earth's sun, no longer light shall give;
Nor do they need its rays to live;
The Sun of Righteousness does rise
Above the earth's old mundane skies;
And in the Glory of His beams
The desert breaks in flowing streams,
When from these troubles Christ relieves,
They hardly know what all this means.
And there is healing in His wings,
For with His Light, His Love He brings;
And even more, His Face He'll show
Though still more desert we may know.
For all along the darkened way
We hear a voice within us say:
You who are weary, come to Me:
You who are burdened as can be;
I know the way your soul has been,
I know the stress you now are in;
I, too have been there all alone,
I, too did bear the cross you've borne.
In you My suff'rings now abound,
In you My sorrows now are found;
To you My consolation give,
And in My death I make you live.
Take upon you my load today;
Though in the desert you may stray;
My yoke is easy, burden light,
My rest shall find to your delight.
Thy stones with colors I shall lay,
And as thy strength, shall be thy day;
Of agates shall thy windows be
Through these My glory thou shalt see;
And all My children shall be taught
That all of this the Lord has wrought;
From hunger, thirst I give release,
And great shall be thy children's peace.
*Copyright 2005,
O. Allen Bailey
"...That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. 12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus..." Phil 3:15
*This material may be freely copied and distributed, but shall not be altered in any way or sold.