All your former troubles and afflictions – Thomas Brooks
“In the day of adversity, consider.” Eccles. 7:14
If you would be quiet and silent under your present troubles and trials, then dwell much upon the benefit, the profit, the advantage that has redounded to your souls by all your former troubles and afflictions.
Oh! consider, how by former afflictions the Lord has revealed sin, prevented sin, and mortified sin!
Consider how the Lord by former afflictions has revealed to you the impotency, the mutability, the insufficiency, and the vanity of the world,
and all worldly concerns!
Consider how the Lord by former afflictions has melted your heart, and broken your heart, and humbled your heart, and prepared your heart for clearer, fuller, and sweeter enjoyments of Himself!
Consider what pity, what compassion, what affections, what tenderness, and what sweetness former afflictions have wrought in you, towards others in misery!
Consider what room former afflictions have made in your soul for God, for His word, for good counsel, and for divine comfort!
Consider how by former afflictions the Lord has made you more partaker of His Christ, His Spirit, His holiness, His goodness, etc.
Consider how by former afflictions the Lord has made you to look towards heaven more, to mind heaven more, to prize heaven more, and to long for heaven more, etc.
Now, who can seriously consider all the good that he has gotten by former afflictions and not be silent under present afflictions? Who can remember those choice, those great, and those precious profits that his soul has made of former afflictions, and not reason himself into a holy silence under present afflictions thusly, “O my soul! has not God done you much good, great good, special good by former afflictions? Yes! O my soul! has not God done that for you by former afflictions which you would not undo for ten thousand worlds? Yes! And is not God, O my soul! as powerful as ever, as faithful as ever, as gracious as ever, and as ready and willing as ever to do you good by present afflictions, as he has been to do you good by former afflictions? Yes! Yes! Why, why then do you not sit silent and mute before Him, under your present troubles, O my soul?