Lincoln's Testimony

Read: Luke 24:13-27

Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory? --- Luke 24:26

The Bible In One Year:
Leviticus 10-12
Proverbs 17:1-14

Abraham Lincoln was a backwoods-man who rose from humble beginnings to the heights of political power. During the dark days of the US Civil War, he served as a compassionate and resolute president. Depression and mental pain were his frequent companions. Yet the terrible emotional suffering he endured drove him to receive Jesus Christ by faith.

Lincoln told a crowd in his hometown in Illinois: "When I left Springfield, I asked the people to pray for me; I was not a Christian. When I buried my son, the severest trial of my life, I was not a Christian. But when I saw the graves of thousands of our soldiers, I then and there consecrated myself to Christ. I do love Jesus." Life's most painful tragedies can bring us to a deeper understanding of the Savior.

When two men walked the road to Emmaus, they were dumbfounded by the senseless murder of Jesus of Nazareth. Then a stranger joined them and gave scriptural insight about the suffering Messiah [Luke 24:26-27]. The stranger was Jesus Himself, and His ministry to them brought comfort.

Heartache has a way of pointing us to the Lord Jesus, who has shared in our sufferings and can bring meaning to seemingly senseless pain. --- Dennis Fisher

Though tragedy, heartache, and sorrow abound
And many a hardship in life will be found,
Just put all your trust in the Savior of light,
For He can bring hope in the darkest of night. --- D. De Haan

SUFFERING CAN TEACH US WHAT WE CAN'T LEARN IN ANY OTHER WAY.