Is there a Remedy?

A Dear Sister quoted this poem to us: “For every trial under the sun, there is a remedy, or there is none. If there be one, try to find it; and if there be none, never mind it.”

Now we all have trials. The only people who have no trials and no prob­lems are dead. So we should be thankful that we have a few, as it proves we are alive.

When we are faced with a trial, what do we do? Since we all have them, it is what we do about them that determines whether they will make or break us.

As the poem says, there is a remedy or there is none. Some problems have no remedy. There are those who refuse to accept their problem and continue to butt their heads against a brick wall — which solves nothing. It takes great wisdom to be able to face our trials objectively and ask, Is there a remedy for this problem?

If we have just had a leg amputated, it is wise to acknowledge that it is gone. Crying will not bring it back. Many people feel so sorry for themselves all they can do is moan and groan about their loss, and they never get up and try to learn to walk with a prosthesis. If we have an artificial limb, we either learn to walk on it or we stay home and feel sorry for ourselves.

Most of our trials are not this clear, however. There may be a remedy but we do not know what it is. What did king Hezekiah do under similar circum­stances? “And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the LORD. Then Hezekiah prayed before the Lord.”

This is the attitude that the Lord is looking for when we have a trial. If there is a remedy, the Lord will help us find it; and if there is none, never mind it.

When Paul had a thorn in his flesh, he asked God three times to remove it. The Lord’s answer was, “my grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” Now in this instance there was no remedy. God I wanted Paul to have his thorn in the flesh, and it is possible God also wants us to have ours. Is our response the same as that of the apostle Paul? We remember he said, “Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmi­ties, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

We may know the right response, but do we accept what we cannot change? Do we realize our loving Heavenly Father really does know what is best for us, even if it is something we wish we could change?

Let us have the faith of Paul and say with him, “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecution, in distresses for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”