A WORD IN SEASON TO THE WEARY
🌷🌷🌷 September 10🌷🌷🌷
“… your sorrow shall be turned into joy” (John 16:20).
Benjamin means, “son of my right hand” (Gen. 35:18). When Rachel was in great pain and was dying, she called her newborn son, “Benoni” – “son of my sorrow.” But Jacob changed his name from Benoni to Benjamin, “son of my right hand”, meaning that Benjamin was going to receive power and strength rather than sorrow. It is the right hand that is most useful for every job. Only a few use their left hand. So when Jacob said “Son of my right hand” or “Son of my strength”, he meant that this son would finally have more strength and more joy because of the sorrow in which he was born. Benjamin’s mother died in childbirth and so he did not know mother’s love. But it was through Benjamin that his brothers were brought into favour with Joseph later on. Although Joseph was hated by his brothers, his heart melted when he saw Benjamin and he not only forgave them but even rewarded them.
Thus we find that Benjamin speaks of those sorrows which bring us to God’s right hand. Sorrow is a precious and costly experience which brings us close to God and makes us enjoy His strength. The Lord may take us through experiences of extreme sorrow. He may take away our parents at an early age. He may take away our children, our husband or wife, or some one whom we love. We may not understand why this should happen to us. But through the sorrow caused to us, we will be brought into divine favour.
Through very painful experiences we learn how to bear other people’s burdens and this in turn, qualifies us to come to the right hand of God and into divine favour. Your sorrowful experiences may not all be caused by the death of loved ones. They may be caused through misunderstandings with friends and relations from whom you expected love and comfort, and who on the contrary, have disappointed you and even betrayed you. All these experiences are allowed by God to bring us to His right hand : from the experience of Benoni, “son of my sorrow”, to the experience of Benjamin, “son of my right hand.”
