Ephesians 2: 4 - 9 NKJV
I remember it like was yesterday, even though some time has now passed. Saying goodbye to my mother one last time after she had passed away. One of the things I remember of that night was that I came home and threw the bible I was carrying against the wall in my grief. For it was God who seemingly had ignored my prayers for healing and had taken my mother from this world. Yeah, I was angry at God. See, God and I had a talk that night, even though it was me who did most of the talkng...and yelling. It wasn't until a few days later when that still voice spoke to my heart, assuring me that my mom was no longer in pain. It was in that moment that I finally understood. God had not ignored my prayers, but in His love He had seen to my mothers needs before my own. Yes, I wanted to keep her with us, but at what cost? Not suprisingly, when my mom passed my first thought was of myself and how I felt. Never once did I take into account that not only was she free of the pain which had afflicted her final years, but that she was now in the presence of the Lord she loved. Of course, I'm not the only person who has ever asked, cried and screamed "Why me God?" It's not secret that we live in a world in which evil, violence and inhumanity amongst our neighbors seems to run rampant. Every day there are reports of murders, assaults and wars among us. Is it no wonder that we from time to time might ask, "Where are you God?" Why is it so difficult for us to see God in this world of pain? Why was it so hard for me to see God through my own tears? Is God only among us in the happy times and yet abandon His children in their times of tragedy and pain? I don't believe this at all. In fact, I believe that we may just see God more clearly through our own tears.
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any atrouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our bconsolation also abounds through Christ.
2 Corinthians 1: 3 - 5 NKJV
We are told that God is love {1 John 4:8}. What love do we know which fosters pain, anguish and tragedy? For this is not love at all. The love of God is manifested in that He loved us first. He loved us enough that He would find us innocent and proclaim that we would spend eternity with Him. He loved us enough to proclaim us His very children and heirs through Christ Jesus. And yet bad things continue to happen around us. We do well to remember that despite the circumstances around us, that it is God Himself who never changes {Hebrews 13:8}. God is love, and there is nothing that will ever change that. In the midst of all the voilence, disasters and hatred we see all around us, it is our heavenly Father who remains unchanged over time. He is love, He loved us first AND He continues in His love for us. It is we ourselves who make stake the claim that God has somehow forgotten us in our time of need. Our tears have a way of putting a veil over our own eyes. It was in my own time of grief that my focus was not on what God was accomplishing around me, but on my own pain and sorrow. I guess that such feelings would only be considered normal in the face of tragedy, for this is what makes us uniquely human. However, it is also God who created us not only with our spirit identity but with these thoughts and emotions which we so often express. I believe that God does not look down on us for expressing how we feel inside. This is part of who we are. Could it be that my heavenly Father who loved me enough to call me His own would somehow abandon me for expressing the sorrow and grief which He Himself created in me? Hardly. It's in those darkest moments that we will find Him leading us into comfort through our own trail of tears.
~Scott~
No comments:
Post a Comment