Preparations for Sufferings
by John Flavel
Flavel wrote this treatise on Acts 21:13 amid the persecution of England's ejected Nonconformist ministers, calling it 'the best work in the worst times.' It urges Christians to ready their hearts for trial before it arrives, since sufferings that come by surprise wound most deeply, and it prescribes the graces that sweeten the bitter cup.
Based on Preparation for Sufferings, or The Best Work in the Worst Times (1682), by John Flavel
From the book
In John Flavel's own words
“The cup of sufferings is a very bitter cup, and it is but needful that we provide somewhat to sweeten it, that we may be able to receive it with thanksgiving.”
“Troubles will be so much the more sinking and intolerable, by how much the more they steal upon us by way of surprisal.”
