I was surprised on my way to visit a sick person. I went up the stairs to visit her room and heard her singing. As she had been very ill on my previous visit, one did not expect her even to give voice, or speak. Here she was, lying back on her bed, weak, but singing the words of Fight the Good Fight:
"Fight the good fight with all thy might!
Christ is thy strength, and Christ thy right;
Lay hold on life, and it shall be
Thy joy and crown eternally.
"Run the straight race through God's good grace,
Lift up thine eyes, and seek his face;
Life with its path before us lies; Christ is the way, and Christ the prize.
"Cast care aside, lean on thy guide;
His boundless mercy will provide;
Trust, and thy trusting soul shall prove
Christ is its life, and Christ its love.
"Faint not nor fear, his arms are near;
He changeth not, and thou art dear;
Only believe, and thou shalt see
That Christ is all in all to thee."
In her suffering she was finding comfort in her time of weakness by singing those words which stress the importance of faith in God. There are many instances of people finding faith and strength in that way. The same spirit of courage carries them through, as the psalmist found: "I called unto the Lord in my trouble and He delivered me out of my distress." The opening words of each verse in that hymn are positively encouraging to the believer:
"Fight the good fight with all thy might."
"Run the straight race through God's good grace."
"Cast care aside, lean on thy guide."
Faint not nor fear, his arms are near."
We find this positive attitude to suffering in the words describing Our Lord's entry into Jerusalem to face his trials; "He set his face steadfastly to go into Jerusalem." St Paul meets the "thorn of the flesh", his suffering, trusting in God's words: "My grace is sufficient for thee." At a sacred moment in Gethsemane Our Lord rejects any hint of being angry with God. He does not yield to the "grin and bear it" philosophy. He achieves through His suffering the resurrection and triumph of love.
The Virgin Mary, when called by the angel to her high destiny involving suffering, is supremely positive in her reply: "Be it unto me according to Thy Word", and in the words of hers in the Magnificat.
Here is a grand old positive prayer called "The prayer of the Eastern Church". It is suitable for use as we pray for suffering in the community. It is positive and allembracing. It is well worth keeping at hand:
"Be mindful, O Lord, of thy people present here before Thee, and of those who are absent through age, sickness, or infirmity. Care for the infants, guide the young, support the aged, encourage the faint-hearted, collect the scattered, and bring back the wandering to Thy fold. Travel with the voyagers, defend the widows, shield the orphans, deliver the captives, heal the sick. Succour all who are in tribulation, necessity, or distress. Remember for good all those that love us, and those who hate us, and those that have desired us, unworthy as we are, to pray for them. And those whom we have forgot- ten, do Thou, O Lord, remember. For Thou are the helper of the helpless, the Saviour of the lost, the refuge of the wanderer, the healer of the sick. Thou, who knowest each man's need, and hast heard his prayer, grant unto each according to Thy merciful loving-kindness, and Thy eternal love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."
W.W.