Disappointment.
“In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.” Oscar Wilde
If you’ve noticed the long expanse between posts, you may assume that I am having a difficult time. You would be correct. Life is tough. This is not an earth-shattering conclusion for any of us to come to. The difficulty comes when it is time for me to say something to the world about pain and illness and suffering and I myself am white-knuckling my faith, hanging on for dear life. What do I say about God and faith and hope when I myself am disappointed once again, struggling to feel anything?
Welcome to humanity.
It is times like these where I struggle to reconcile Jesus and his death to my feelings and disappointments. Let’s just put this out there in the open-his saving powers aren’t exactly tangible all the time. There’s all this “looking to the future” business and “forgiveness of sins” and “open line to God” but sometimes, in the thick of it, those things seem to help very little. There. I said it. And I wasn’t even struck by lightning.
When your normal state of operation is pain, an increase in pain has the distinct ability to drown out all of your touchy-feeling-God-is-with-me Christian superpowers. And it all leaves you feeling rather disappointed. In life. But ultimately, what I’m saying is disappointed in God. How would Jesus react to my feelings of disappointment? To my anger? Depression? Would he offer some trite statement like, “if only you prayed harder (better, more)…” I doubt that.
“My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?” he cried out from the cross. Jesus quoted from Psalm 22, which says, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning? Oh my God, I cry in the daytime, but you answer not; and by night I am not silent or find no rest.” I could not have said it better myself. Have you ever felt that way? If you say never have, you’re either a far better Christian than me or a far better liar. I have, honestly at least every six months for the past five years, felt at some point abandoned by God, left here on earth to wander around in pain, wondering if there is a point, a purpose. Jesus felt abandoned too, only much more rightly so. He did suffer a break in fellowship with God, something our bible tells us we will never have to do because of what Jesus already did.
But how does this help? This is the point where I struggle to say something that isn’t full of empty platitudes and Precious Moments angels. Neither of those things are particularly helpful. What are we supposed to do when we cry out, with tears and pain, and feel God is still so far away? When we get no rest because the pain is too much and the emotional suitcase that comes along with it is too heavy to bear? I tell you, I wish I had an easy answer. But I don’t.
Now, maybe you’re one of “those people” who hears God audibly, who always feels his presence when you pray, who sees what He wants you to see in your cereal in the morning. If that is you, then take it and be blessed and never stop thanking God for that. My guess is you’re more like me though, sometimes wondering if I’m being directed by God or me or the devil. And that’s when the feelings come-confusion, disappointment, why can’t this all be easier, fear, doubt. Yep. The d-word. Doubt. The worst of feelings, I think. For me, there just comes a point where I get swallowed up by my feelings. And then I have to go back to what I believe. I believe in the bible. I don’t just “feel” like I believe in it, I really do. The word of God is as real as the law of gravity and I can’t believe in one and not the other. Even if I don’t feel God, I can go to the bible and believe.
So what did Jesus do when he faced fear, confusion, disappointment, why can’t this all be easier? We don’t often think of Jesus facing these things, but he must have experienced them to be truly human. Put yourself in his shoes: he knew he was going to be betrayed, beaten and then die crucified. That’s terrifying. After the Last Supper, he went to Gethsemane to pray to God the Father. Jesus said, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” And again, after finding his friends asleep, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” His soul was overwhelmed to the point of death, Matthew quotes Jesus saying. He cried out to God and sweat blood. Interestingly enough, we don’t really get God’s cut and dry response to Jesus’ prayers. But we do know the outcome.
So back to the point: How do we reconcile our faith, feelings, beliefs and disappointments with Jesus and God the Father? Often times, I am told during the support group at church or in speaking with someone who is also ill, they tell me that it helps to have someone to talk to who has been there, who knows what they are going through. Jesus has been there, he had to be. So what about when you feel nothing? “Start by remembering your time of the most acute disappointment. You staked everything on what seemed within God’s power-a recovery from cancer, perhaps, or the birth of a healthy baby, or God’s help in stitching a marriage together. But everything turned out wrong. The cancer killed, despite your prayers; the baby was born with brain damage; you got divorce papers in the mail. Think of Calvary at that time…Think of it as a time of No Miracle.” (Phillip Yancey) Everyone cried for a miracle at the cross, for God to come down and take Jesus off that cross. That would be a miracle. That wouldn’t leave room for this “feeling” business. Didn’t happen. How do you think all those people felt? Disappointed in God? Angry? Depressed? Doubtful? No miracle. Bam. How does that feel?
The great thing about God is even if you don’t feel him, he still is there. No one always feels something all the time. I may not always feel love from my husband, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t love me. I may not always feel supported by my church family, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t support me. I may not always feel like God is there, but that doesn’t mean that he isn’t. Interestingly enough, Psalm 22 also says this about God, “But You are holy…our fathers trusted in You, they trusted (leaned on, relied on You and were confident) and You delivered them. They cried to You and were delivered; they trusted in, leaned on, and confidently relied on You, and were not ashamed or confounded or disappointed…For He has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither has He hidden His face from him, but when he cried to Him, He heard.”
It’s just not fair!
Someone said to me a few weeks ago, concerning a friend of mine who is seriously ill, “It’s not fair for her to go through that.” Fairness and God and illness. Sometimes it seems like those things just can’t be friends.
Yes, the persistent cry of the 4 year old in all of us. Life’s not fair. Waaaa. I am full of sarcasm but I don’t mean to trivialize all of our pains, problems, illnesses and sadness. There have been plenty of times when I look up to God and cry out, “Really? Are You serious? This is just…not…fair.” There are parts of disease that are ugly, hurtful, depressing. But it is when we venture off into the territory of questioning God’s fairness that we can get ourselves into trouble, spiritually speaking.
What would life look like if God followed my definition of fair? Would I be rewarded with showers of money and chocolate every time I did something right, every time I did something honoring God? And if I screwed up, he’d send down a lightening bolt of varying intensity, depending on the severity of my offense? He’d always be right there too, obviously visible, so that there was no question about which path to take. Hmmm…sounds strangely familiar to me.
(NIV) Exodus 13:21-22 By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.
So stay with me a minute. Here we have the Israelites, recently freed from slavery. They’re heading off on their long trek to the Promised Land. And who is leading them? God himself, in a pillar of cloud and fire. And God took care of their every need. He fed them, clothed them and gave them over 600 commands, so that they could obey him. And life was fair and all was well. Not exactly.
If you know just about anything about the Old Testament, you probably know that following God’s commands was not something that the Israelites excelled at. Phillip Yancey writes in his book, Disappointment with God (which I highly recommended if you are anything like me and ever have been, dare I say, disappointed), “‘Do not go up and fight [the Amorites],’ said God, ‘because I will not be with you. You will be defeated by your enemies.’ The Israelites promptly went out and fought the Amorities and were defeated by their enemies. They marched when told to sit tight, fled in fear when told to march, fought when told to declare peace, declared peace when told to fight. They made a national pastime out of inventing ways to break the 613 commands.” So the Israelites has a ton of rules and a “fair” system. God told them exactly what to do (613 commands) and exactly where to go (pillar of cloud/fire). And they still botched it.
Okay, so that may seem a bit like tangent city, but the point: the story of the Israelites, their disobedience and the consequences are the perfect example of life built around fairness. It is destruction, plain and simple. We like to think, at least I do, that if God was fair and saw all the right things I did, then I wouldn’t have to suffer. More than likely though, the opposite would be true. We screw up and fail to meet God’s standards all the time. The Israelites had instruction, direction, God himself and failed to meet God’s standards. I mean look around-every day people are finding new and amazing ways to be terrible human beings. The Israelites were bad with their golden calf, but I wouldn’t be surprised if someone told me they worshipped a hotdog.
Ok, enough about the depravity of society. Obviously I’ve been reading too much news lately. Seriously though, this whole “it’s not fair” business is really important when it comes to faith. Because if we truly belief that God is not fair, then how can we trust him? How could be believe that he cares for us? How can he love us? If he’s not fair, and we don’t trust him, and he doesn’t love us, then how are we supposed to believe in him? And now you’ve gone from a seemingly small statement, “God’s not fair,” to a huge, life-altering conclusion: “I don’t believe in God.” So we really have to kick this fair thing in the butt. (And I’ll try to address some of those other questions at a later blog, but I’m having enough difficulty addressing this one thing right now!)
So the question: Is God fair? I guess I don’t have a cut and dry answer for everyone out there. I believe that God is more than fair. I believe that God is better than fair. The word “fair” doesn’t even begin to bring to light the amazing God we have. God sent his son Jesus to this world so that we didn’t have to live by the fair old covenant of the Old Testament. Instead of finding temples and bulls and lambs and doves, we can find Jesus and he was already our sacrifice for God. Sounds more than fair for me. I know it’s more than I deserve.
But even though I say that and believe it, it still doesn’t change the fact that life just…bah…doesn’t seem fair sometimes. There. I still said it. Forrest Gump said,”Stupid is as stupid does.” Well, I say that fair is as fair does. We make our own fair. If I walk around and see God’s injustice in my life because I got a cold and my weekend didn’t go as planned or the barista messed up my morning coffee, of course life isn’t going to be fair.
Then what’s the alternative? First, stop putting your relationship with God in the context of fair. Job said to his wife, “Should we only take good from God and not bad?” Then, think about what it would be like if God really did treat you fairly when you sinned. What would happen to me when I was mean to my husband? What would happen when I was rude to the person at the store? What would happen when I broke the law? What would happen when I ignored the call of God? What would happen if I walked away? That’s a long list of things I prefer to not know. Finally, you have to make the decision to trust God. And there’s not really an a-b-c plan for that. It looks different for everyone. But if you’re going to get over the whole “life’s not fair” thing, you’re going to have to trust that God knows what he’s doing, he knows what he’s allowing and that Jesus covers your shortcomings more than you ever could. I leave you with this:
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
The Sick Man Left Behind.
So last week, I was reading in Timothy. I came across this verse, which I had probably read no less than four times but went unnoticed. It said this: “Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick.” And this time it really stuck out to me. Paul left someone sick? Paul the Apostle? Why would he do that? There were many times when Paul was blessed by the Lord to be able to heal many people. So why would he leave this guy sick? So I started to look into it. Turns out, Charles Spurgeon had the same thought. Well, at least I’m on the right track. So instead of trying to re-invent the wheel, last week we studied his sermon and were really blessed by it.
THE SICK MAN LEFT BEHIND
Charles Spurgeon
January 12, 1879
“Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick.” 2 Timothy 4:20.
These are among the last words of Paul the apostle, for we find them in the closing verses of the last of his Epistles. The chapter reminds us of a dying man’s final adieu to his best friend, in the course of which he calls to mind the associates of his life. Among his memories of love we find Paul recollecting Trophimus who had frequently shared with him the perils of rivers and perils of robbers that so largely attended the Apostle’s career. He had left the good man ill at Miletum and as Timothy at Ephesus was within an easy journey of him, there was no need to add a hint that he should visit him, for he would be sure to do it.
The love of Jesus works great tenderness and unity in the hearts of His disciples. The overflow of our Lord’s great soul has saturated all His true followers with brotherly affection – because Jesus has loved Paul, Paul loves Timothy and Timothy must love Trophimus. From this love there arises communion of feeling so that in sympathy they share each other’s joys and griefs. When one member rejoices, the body rejoices – and when one member suffers the whole body suffers with it. Trophimus is sick and Paul cannot forget him, though he, himself, expects in a few weeks to die a martyrs death! Neither would he have Timothy ignorant of the fact, though twice, within a few verses, he hurries him to come to Rome, saying, “Do your diligence to come shortly unto me.”
If Timothy cannot personally visit the sick friend, yet it was well that he should know of his affliction, for he would then remember him in his prayers. “Beloved, let us love one another for love, is of God.” Let us remember those who are one with us in Christ and especially let us bear on our hearts all those two are afflicted in mind, body, or estate. If we have had to leave Trophimus at Miletum, or at Brighton, or at Ventnor, let us leave our heart’s love with him. And if we hear that another Trophimus lies sick not far from our own home, let us accept the information as in itself a sufficient summons to minister to the afflicted friend.
May holy sympathy pervade all our souls, for however active and zealous we may be, we have not yet reached a perfect character unless we are full of compassion, tender-hearted and considerate of the sorrowful, for this is the mind of Christ. Simple as the statement of our text certainly is, it is found in an Inspired Book and it is, therefore, more than an ordinary note in a common letter. Like another verse of the same chapter, “The cloak that I left at Troas with Carpas, when you come, bring with you, and the books, but especially the parchments,” has been judged to be beneath the dignity of Inspiration, we think not so. The God who counts the hairs of our heads in Providence may well mention His sick servants on the pages of Inspiration!
Instead of quibbling at the littleness of the recorded fact, let us admire “the love of the Spirit” who, while he lifts Ezekiel and Daniel above the spheres and raises the language of David and Isaiah to the utmost pitch of poetry and eloquence, yet deigns to breathe in such a line as this-”Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick.” Can we learn anything more from this plain line of Apostolic penmanship? Let us see. If the same Divine Spirit who Inspired it will shine upon it, we shall not read it in vain!
I . From the fact that Paul left Trophimus sick at Miletum we learn that IT IS THE WILL OF GOD THAT SOME GOOD MEN SHOULD BE IN ILL HEALTH. Whatever the malady may have been which affected Trophimus, Paul could certainly have healed him if the divine spirit had permitted the use of his miraculous powers to that end. He had raised up Eutychus from death and he had given back the use of his limbs to the cripple at Lystra. We feel, therefore, fully assured that had God allowed the Apostle so to use his healing energy, Trophimus would have left his bed and continued his journey to Rome.
Not so, however, had the Lord willed. The good fruit-bearing vine must be pruned and Trophimus must suffer-there were ends to be answered by his weakness which could not be compassed by his health. Instantaneous restoration could have been given, but it was withheld under Divine direction. This doctrine leads us away from the vain idea of chance. We are not wounded by arrows shot at a venture, but we smart by the determinate counsel of Heaven! An overruling hand is everywhere present, preventing or permitting ill and no one shaft of disease is ever let fly by stealth from the bow of death! If someone must be ill, it was a wise Providence which selected Trophimus, for it was better for him to be ill than Titus, or Tychicus, or Timothy.
It was well, too, that he happened to be ill at Miletum near his own native city, Ephesus. We cannot always see the hand of God in Providence but we may always be sure that it is there. If not a sparrow lights on the ground without our Father, surely not a child of the Divine family is laid low without His sacred will! Chance is a heathenish idea which cannot live in the Presence of an everywhere present, living and working God! Away with it from every Christian mind! It is dishonoring to the Lord and grievous to ourselves!
This also delivers us from regarding affliction as being always brought upon men by their personal sin. Many a sickness has been the direct result of intemperance, or some other form of wickedness-but here is a worthy, well-approved brother laid aside and left on the road through a malady for which he is not blamed in any measure. It is too common, nowadays, for men to be of a hard and cool spirit and ascribe the illnesses, even, of those who are true children of God to some fault in their habits of life. We wonder how they would like to be dealt with in this manner if they were suffering and could wash their hands in innocence in reference to their daily lives?
In our Lord’s day they told him, “Lord, he whom You love is sick.” And Solomon, long before that time, wrote, “Whom the Lord loves He corrects; even as a father the son in whom he delights.” This was a much better, more humane and more truthful speech than the frozen philosophy of modern times which traces each man’s sickness to his own violation of natural law and, instead of pouring in the balm of consolation, pours out the sulfuric acid of slanderous insinuations! Let the afflicted examine himself to see if the rod is not sent to correct some secret evil and let him diligently consider where he may amend-but far be it from us to stand at his bedside like judges or lictors and look upon our friend as an offender as well as a sufferer!
Such brutality may be left to the philosophers, but it would it ill become the sons of God! We may not think a shade the less of Trophimus because he is sick at Miletum. He is probably a far better man than any of us and perhaps for that very reason he is more tried. There is gold in him which pays for putting into the crucible-he bears such rich fruit that he is worth pruning-he is a diamond of so pure a water that he will repay the lapidary’s toil. This may not be quite so true of any of us and, therefore, we escape his sharper trials. Let us, as James says, “Count them happy that endure,” and like David, say, “Blessed is the man who You chasten, O Lord, and teach him out of Your Law.”
What do the Scriptures say?-”For whom the Lord loves, He chastens and scourges every son whom He receives. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chastens not?” Lazarus of Bethany, Dorcas, Epaphroditus and Trophimus are a few of that great host of sick folk whom the Lord loves in their sicknesses, for whom the promise was written, “The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: You will make all his bed in his sickness.”
II. We have only strength and space for mere comments and so we notice, secondly, that GOOD MEN MAY BE LAID ASIDE WHEN THEY SEEM MOST NEDED-as Trophimus was when the aged apostle had but a scanty escort and required his aid. Paul needed him, badly enough, soon after he had been obliged to leave him at Miletum, for he writes sorrowfully, “Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me.” “And Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus.” How glad he would have been with Trophimus, for we see how he begs Timothy to come with all speed and to bring Mark, whose service he greatly needed with him.
Yet not even for Paul’s sake can Trophimus be suddenly raised up! His Lord sees it to be necessary that he should feel the heat of the furnace and into the crucible he must go. We think that the church cannot spare the earnest minister, the indefatigable missionary, the faithful deacon, the tender teacher-but God thinks not so! No one is indispensable in the household of God! He can do His own work not only without Trophimus but even without Paul! Yes, we go further-it sometimes happens that the work of the Lord is quickened by the decease of one upon whom it seemed to depend! When a broad, far-spreading tree is cut down, many smaller trees which were dwarfed and stunted while it stood, suddenly shoot up into vigorous growth-even so, one good man may do much and yet, when he is removed, others may do more!
Temporary illnesses of great workers may call to the front those who would otherwise, from modesty, have remained in the rear-and the results may be a great gain. Poor Trophimus had, in his healthier days, been the innocent cause of bringing Paul into a world of trouble, for as we read in Acts 21:27 that a tumult was made by the Jews because they imagined that Paul had brought Trophimus into the temple and so had defiled it. Now, when he could have been of service, he is sick and, no doubt, it was a great grief to him that it should be so. Yet for him, as often times for us, there was no alternative but to submit himself under the hand of God and feel that the Lord is always right.
Why do we not yield at once? Why do we chomp the bit and paw the ground, restless to be on the road? If our Lord bids us stand still, can we not be quiet? Active spirits are apt to become restive spirits when under the restraining hand-energy soon sours into rebellion and we quarrel with God because we are not allowed to glorify Him in our own way- a foolish form of contest which at bottom means that we have a will of our own and will only serve God upon condition of having it indulged!
Brothers and Sisters, he who writes these lines knows what he writes and this is the verdict of his experience-God’s work needs us far less than we imagine and God would have us aware of this fact, for He will not give His glory to human instruments any more then He will allow his praise to be bestowed on graven images!
III. Our text clearly shows us that GOOD MEN WOULD HAVE THE LORD’S WORK GO ON WHATEVER BECOMES OF THEM. Paul did not desert Trophimus, but left him, because a higher call summoned him to Rome. Trophimus, we may be sure, did not wish to delay the great Apostle, but was content to be left. No doubt they both felt the separation but, like true soldiers of Christ, they endured hardness and, for the sake of the cause, parted company for awhile. It would be a great grief to the true-hearted worker if he knew that any fellow-laborer slackened his pace for his sake. The sick in an army of an earthly monarch are necessarily an impediment, but it need not be so in the army of the King of kings!
Spiritual sickness is a sore hindrance, but sickness of body should not delay the host. If we cannot preach we can pray. If one work is out of our reach, we can try another and if we can do nothing, our inability should serve as a call to the vigorous to be doing all the more! Trophimus is sick, then let Timothy be the more energetic! Trophimus cannot attend the apostle, then let Timothy be the more diligent to come before winter! Thus by acting as an incentive, the lack of one man’s service may produce tenfold more in others who are awakened to extra exertions.
Brethren, it will be the sweetest alleviation to the pains of a sick pastor if he sees you each and all nerved to special diligence. His enforced rest will be better enjoyed if he knows that the church of God is not a sufferer because of it. And his whole mind and spirit will minister to the health of his body if he sees the fruit of the Spirit of God in all of you, keeping you faithful and zealous. Will you not see to this for Jesus’ sake?
Working through it.
Working through it.
Lamentations 3:18-26:
So I say, “My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped from the Lord.” I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.
Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love, we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him. The LORD is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
Lamentations, written by the prophet Jeremiah, is a sad story of a people who were carried away to Babylon following the destruction of Jerusalem. Jeremiah is weeping, full of sorrow and anguish about the painful loss of the nation. I think we can relate well to Jeremiah, as we are also struggling through the painful loss of our health.
Jeremiah starts out saying, “My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped from the Lord.” (NIV) The Amplified version says, “Perished is my strength and my expectation from the Lord.” I can relate to that. Perished is my strength. How many times have I been there? Probably more than I can count. It’s when you really don’t know how you’re going to get through the next hour, day, month, year. (Do you have times when your strength is gone? When? What are they like? What gets you through? How?) Then he says, “and all that I had hoped from the Lord.” Harsh words for a prophet. The Lord is great, and we are right to have great hope for the things that He can do in our life. (What are some of the things that you have or still hope for from the Lord? What are some things that have failed? What are some things that have been fulfilled?) What did I hope for from the Lord? Honestly, my greatest hope was that I would not be struck with some life-long incurable illness. So far, my luck isn’t looking so good on that one. When I got the diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis, it was somewhat anti-climatic, mixed feelings of finality, disappointment and resignation. Creeping in there, however, was that for years my biggest hope had been that God would reveal to me a way to not have to live in pain, to not have to physically suffer. And so when that was no longer a possibility, I could relate to Jeremiah, in a way, in saying that all that I had hoped from the Lord had perished.
After this, we come to the wallowing. Oh, yes. The wallow. The state of “I remember my affliction, misery, wandering, outcast state, wormwood (bitterness), and gall (even more bitterness). Do you know what it means to wallow? Pigs do it. They root around and make a dirt and mud pit. Then they get down in it and roll around, until the mud and dirt and grime covers them and is in every crease of skin and every pore in their body. Wallowing is natural for pigs. Its also natural for us as well. As we’ve covered before, being sick sucks. But, like Jeremiah, we can focus on that. It’s then, when we start thinking about our affliction (whatever disease you have), the misery (all the crappy things that it does to you ), the wandering (What am I going to do with myself?), the outcast state (no one understands), the bitterness (my life is over) and the even more bitterness (God, how could you do this to me?). (Which one of these is the most difficult/troubling for you? Why?) “My soul has them continually in remembrance and is bowed down within me” or “my soul is downcast within me.” Souls can be easy to bow over. How easy is it for us to keep continually in remembrance our physical ailments? I mean our bodies are basically like a giant siren, pointing them out to us: “Look at me! I’m here! And I hurt!” That’s enough to downcast any soul. When I think of “bowed down within me” I think of being literally bent over, on the ground, curled up and sobbing. I can picture Jeremiah there. I’ve been there too. I think we all have.
But I think that is okay. I think sometimes we do need to remember all of those things, the affliction and the misery. They are real. Believing in the Lord doesn’t make them go away. Our wandering, outcast state and bitterness. All true. All very real feelings and if we, as Christians, pretend they don’t exist, we are certainly poor examples to the world indeed. But, knowing Jesus, we have something that will soothe our souls.
After all the horribleness, Jeremiah writes, “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope.” After all that crap, hope still. This is the message that suffering Christians need to take a hold of. This is the message we need to share to the world. Yet even though we have the affliction and misery and bitterness, we still can have hope.
“Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love, we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” Why can we have hope? Because of the Lord’s great love. Such as things are, it is because of God that they are not worse. (What are some things that you think of when you think of the Lord’s great love? How does that help you?) “We are not consumed.” Is is easy to become consumed with suffering. The picture of one consumed by suffering brings to mind someone in the pit of addiction, trying desperately to numb the pain. But thanks be to God that we are not consumed. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 puts it this way: “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” How can this be? (How does faith in God and His goodness make us able to stay “not consumed?”) Just as those who are crushed look outward for something to dull their feelings, we look upward, for something to heal our souls and we find it with Jesus. The easiest way to explain it, I guess, is to say that suffering is made easier when you realize that He already suffered and is still suffering with you.
The Lord’s compassions are new every morning. How often do we ask for the Lord’s compassion, help and mercy one day and then forget to do it the next? There are many different ways to look at this the verse, but what the Lord called my attention to is that every day is new, and requires something new. So, every day, we need to ask for his new compassion. (Do you ask the Lord for new compassion daily or do you go for long stretches without doing so? What outcome does that have?)
Great is Your faithfulness. What can I say about this? The Lord is faithful. He has been faithful to me in that every day I am able to continue, no matter the circumstance. No matter the pain, exhaustion or depression. “How can God be faithful if you experience such things?” you may ask. God never promised us a life free of affliction. Once we get over that, it is easy to see what we are blessed with and then we can say, “Great is Your faithfulness.” (How has the Lord been faithful to you?)
Finally, “I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him. The LORD is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” (What is your portion in life, the thing/things that are most important?) What is my portion in life? What should be the most important? The Lord. Not stuff, though stuff is nice. Not others, though they certainly can be helpful. Not healing, though I wouldn’t complain if it came. (What can we do to make sure that we are keeping the Lord as our portion, as the center focus of life?) bWhat should I do? Wait for the Lord. (What does it mean to you when you hear “wait for the Lord?” How do you do that?) How do I do that? Well, a lot of us have waited plenty for healing, searching for doctors or treatments, medications and articles. Spend some of that time waiting for the Lord. Seek out pastors or accountability partners, devotional studies and the Bible, worship and prayer.
The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him. Hope in people, treatments and medications will almost certainly, at one time or another, fail. Hope in the Lord will never fail. It’s when we put conditions on our hope that it fails. “I’ll hope in the Lord until (blank) comes.” Well, sometimes (blank) never comes, and that’s when we find ourselves disappointed, staring back at God saying, “How could you do this to me?” Don’t put conditions on your hope in the Lord, just seek him and your relationship with Him and your spiritual life will be blessed. (Have you put conditions on your hope in the Lord? What are they? How can you get rid of them?)
Most importantly, “wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” (What do you think about “waiting quietly for the salvation of the Lord? How does one wait quietly on the Lord? Is this difficult for you?) Most of us are pretty good at waiting, but how many of us wait quietly for the Lord to save us? For that matter, what does it mean to wait quietly? It means to wait without anger, without anxiety, to trust in the Lord and His plan. For me, this is often a giant fail. The Lord has a plan, but I am usually too impatient to give up my anxiety about it. It is true that when we are in the thick of it, it is hard to see the Lord’s plan and how He will save us. But it is often said that the Lord works in mysterious ways. Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” Job 5:9 says, “He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.”
‘I often think of this: What lies beyond? Is not God preparing us now to do a mightier work in the future? Is he not getting us ready to carry on a conflict that will extend to the uttermost reaches of this vast universe of ours? Of course he is. God never does anything without a purpose. He never creates anything without intending to use it. And all this lies ahead of us. That is why it is so important that we learn how to face up to sorrow and to learn what God would have us to learn in the midst of it.”
-Ray Stedman
Focus.
Sorry about the long stretch between posts. Its been one of those weeks where you barely have time to pee. So is is from last week’s study. The questions in parentheses are things we talked about during study. If you don’t come, you can use these to guide your own study or something. Or if you want to be interactive with the blog, please do so. There is no meeting tomorrow, July 3 because of 4th of July. But we’re meeting next week. So here goes…
(What do you think is the purpose of pain? What is it supposed to do?)
One thing about pain is it can be consuming. Pain has a way of, if you allow it, canceling out all else. After all, that’s what pain is supposed to do: keep you focused on pain. Which is a great thing if you’ve broken your leg or smashed your finger, but when your body has gone haywire and you hurt all the time, it makes life a lot more complicated. And let’s face it: pain is depressing. Focusing on pain is even more depressing.
Paul writes a lot about suffering and gives us a piece of advice from his life in Philippians 3:13-14. He writes, “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
First, forgetting what is behind. (What does that mean to you, “forgetting what is behind?”) Can I just say how enormously impossible that feels sometimes? Some people I’ve spoke to suffer tremendous pain, some have almost died because of their disease. And that would be so hard to forget. And maybe forget isn’t the best word, because who among us could really forget? Forgetting is generally by accident, and what Paul is telling us to do is not by accident. More like a purposeful choice to not remember or focus on the past. (What are some things that you need to forget that are in the past? How can we forget what is behind?)
Second, straining toward what is ahead. I know some people suffering from various chronic conditions who feel like there is nothing ahead. I have felt that way myself in the past, on occasion. But what is ahead? (When you think about what is ahead, what do you think of, good, bad or otherwise? Is it helpful or not? Why?) Well, there is still life. At the moment, if you’re reading this, we’re all still living. Maybe not how we planned, maybe hurting, but we have never been promised a life free of suffering. Maybe looking ahead in life isn’t all that uplifting for you. If you’re a Christian though, Paul tells us what to look ahead to: “the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Heaven is the ultimate goal of any Christian life. Walk with Jesus and you will get there. It’s not some morbid death thing, it’s and uplifting truth. A most excellent new beginning after our time here is done. (Is that uplifting for you, looking toward heaven? Why or why not?)
But there’s still all the junk that gets in our lives daily, that stops us from forgetting the past and straining toward what is ahead. (What kind of things get in your way?) What are we supposed to do with that? Philippians 4:6-8 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.”
So lots of advice here. And it’s good advice for everyone, suffering or not. So let’s look at these one at a time:
Do not be anxious about anything. (Do you struggle with anxiety? What are you anxious about?) We make this a lot harder than it has to be. The future is a pretty big one for me, whether it’s tomorrow or two years from now. But this is not an option. Paul doesn’t say “it’s better not to be anxious about anything.” He simply says don’t. If I could live in each moment, and give up the future to God, how much easier would my walk with the Lord be through my suffering? (How do you think life would be different if we followed Paul’s command to not be anxious?)
In everything, by prayer and petition (supplication), with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Pray for everything. (Do you pray about everything? What are some things you do pray about? Don’t?) There is not a single part of our lives, no matter how small, that God does not care about. Does that mean that every prayer and petition will receive a yes answer? No, but I don’t always tell my two-year-old yes either. Doesn’t mean I don’t love her to death. I’ve had it asked of me, “why does it matter? Doesn’t God already know? Nothing gets answered anyways.” David Guzik writes, “So many of our prayers go unanswered because we do not ask God for anything. Here God invites us simply to let your requests be made known. Doesn’t God already know our requests before we pray them? Of course He does; yet He will often wait for our participation through prayer before granting that which we request.” (Can you think of some of your prayers that have been answered? What are they? What are some of your prayers that have gone unanswered? How do you feel about those?)
I think the most important piece of advice is in the last verse. “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.” As someone who has been in pain and is there, the opposite can often be true. And I’m sure it has been proven somewhere, but I know I feel a lot worse when my mantra is instead, “whatever is not true, not noble, not right, not pure, not lovely, not admirable, not excellent or praiseworthy-think on those things.” (What are some things to think about that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy? How does that help? What about the opposite things? How does that hurt?)
I know sometimes it feels like you’re an ostrich, sticking your head in the sand. Think better therefore be better or something like that. Most of walking the Christian walk comes down to the mind. But when I start going down, I make two lists. I start with the positives. Everything that is what Paul said above, even down to the things I consider tiny. By the time I’m done with that, making the negative list seems pointless. But if I do, I only find a few things on it anyways. (Exercise:make positive and negative lists.)
So finally, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” Not the easiest way, but the better way. And just try it. Make a commitment to do it. And then walk that way until it becomes real for you. (What are some things we can do to remember to rejoice always?)
