A Spoonful of Sugar

 

“For men are not cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men.”

—Lamentations 3:31-33

You have undoubtedly seen the Disney character, Mary Poppins, in the movie with that name, trying to get the Banks children to clean the messy nursery. She finally sings a song to them with the lyrics: “A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down.”

An account records¹ that after a struggle to come up with a song for the movie, lyricist Robert Sherman went home one evening to find that his children had just taken the Sabin polio vaccine. In asking if it hurt, his son explained that he had felt no pain because the nurse had given him the vaccine on a tiny sugar cube. This gave Sherman the inspiration he needed for the lyrics to the now-famous song.

When they suffer various problems and afflictions in their lives, I truly believe that God devises all kinds of “sugar” for His children. Though our troubles cause us great pain and anguish, God still sends His grace to help us bear the suffering. Our God pours into us as much—or even more—mercy as He may pour into us His discipline.

When I read the Old Testament Book of Judges, it always amazes me. Over and over again, God gives Israel a judge with His Word for them to follow. Once the judge dies, they begin to increase their sin and things go awry again.

The author of the Book of Judges records the length of time the children of Israel have to deal with their disobedience Then, God calls another judge. Each time, I read the words, “So the land had peace for ?? years,” I take particular note that the years of peace always exceed the years that they suffered war and turmoil.²

As we look back over the years of our lives, and as we move forward into the future, we must search for the grace that God sends us during our trials. We then must write the instances of His grace down! This little exercise will encourage us to see that God really does care, that He walks with us, and that He has gifts beyond our imagination to help us through the pain.

The Puritan writer, Thomas Watson, says it this way:³

He [God] will not over-afflict. He mixes mercy with all our afflictions. If he gives us wormwood to drink, he will mix it with honey. In every cloud a child of God may see a rainbow of mercy shining.

______________________

1 Sherman, Robert. A Spoonful of Sugar Online Disney Wiki.

2 For example: Judges 3:11, 3:30, 5:31, 8:28

3 Watson, Thomas, as quoted in Rushing, Richard, editor. Voices. Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2009. p. 228.