But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is to this day, to save many people alive.
Genesis 50: 20 NKJV
I have a dear friend who enjoys when I write about my own life experiences to get my point across. There are many who feel that same way. We tend to give a bit more acceptance to someone who has been there already as compared to someone who is simply throwing out words and phrases. I recently had a friend who lost her husband to covid. Knowing her grief, it seemed a bit conceited of me to quote to her a few words from scripture as to how we should approach the grieving widow. That didn't seem appropriately sincere to me in the moment. So, I drew on the experiences I had when my mother passed away. I remember how lost and lonely I felt. I also remember how upset I was with more than a few church friends of mine who took it upon themselves to try and make everything better with a few words from scripture. I don't blame them, because at the time it was probably all they knew of how to comfort someone who had experienced loss. However, I also had a few friends who had been there before, who themselves had experienced the loss which I had. I remember their words being a comfort to me more than the scripture quotes of others. The words of my friends who themselves had experienced loss were a blessing to me as I struggled to deal with my mothers passing. When my friend lost her husband, I knew I couldn't just quote scripture to her. The other day I got a call from her telling me how much she appreciated my words and that through all of the turmoil they gave her some comfort. I was glad that through my own sorrow that I was able to comfort another. It's no secret that we pay a bit more attention to that part of the pastors sermon where he tells of his recent experiences. I would say that a good pastor is able to knit his own life experience into his sermons on a regular basis. He's been there, and now he desires to let others know just what he learned from his experience. I never thought of writing of my own experiences as a way of helping others come to know Jesus as I do, but if it works out that way then so much the better.
"And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."
Revelation 21: 4 NKJV
Have you ever been so angry with God that you never wanted to hear His name again? I have. To most Christians, being that angry with God is paramount to the unpardonable sin. In that moment, I could have cared less. God could do with me what He wanted. If He saw that I committed a unforgivable sin, then so be it. I didn't care. I had prayed and prayed that God would heal my mother from her pain. I had asked others so many times to pray over her. I had reminded her many times in the midst of her sickness that God indeed loved her. But there I was in the days following her death and facing the fact that God had allowed my mother to pass into His hands. Of course, my immediate thought was not that my mother had entered the Lords presence, but why He had not answered my prayers. Did God have something against me? Was I too great of a sinner for Him to listen to me? One Christian brother, whom I have seldom spoken to since then, went to far as to tell me that God was punishing me for all which I had done up until that point. Really bro? So, that dying on the cross to forgive our sins gig was all a joke? I realize now that all of my anger with the Lord was just a small part of my grieving process. I was coming to grips with somewhere I had never been before. God was still there. God still loved me. In the gentleness of how He works, He was opening a new door for me. It was in these days that a good friend of mine began to introduce me to the truth of Christ Jesus in me. That knowing of Jesus in us which the apostle Paul referred to as the "mystery among the Gentiles" {Colossians 1:27}. Indeed, God had not left me to face my grief alone. For it was through Him that healing would come. I would come to realize that despite my hurt, that God had answered my prayer. My mother was no longer in pain.
"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Galatians 2: 20 NKJV
~Scott~
No comments:
Post a Comment