Viewing entries tagged
suffering
Painful trials have a way of testing our coping strategies. The Book of Job introduces a man whose suffering included unimaginable financial devastation, unrelenting physical pain, and the tragic loss of his children. His story helps us to see the limitations of some of our usual responses and gives us more effective means of relief.
As I looked for God’s hand in our often difficult circumstances, I saw more cause for thanksgiving than I would otherwise have noticed. Until I took the time to write, I focused on the negatives and overlooked the positives. And slowing down to write about what I was asking God to do made my needs more clear and my circumstances less overwhelming.
Reading the Bible often challenges our assumptions about Jesus. Take, for example, what He does to Saul. Usually, Jesus heals blind people. But why does He blind someone who can see? And what does that tell us about Him? Am I next? Is this the kind of thing that Jesus does to people? Why wasn’t I warned about this in Sunday School?
[Please note: Due to technical difficulties, a video could not be recorded again this week.]
Over the years, I have had many people reveal to me a terrible trial or sickness they’re facing and the sickening feeling they have that God has cursed them or punished them for some unknown sin they have committed. People brought those same kinds of assumptions to Jesus, and He opened their eyes to the many ways that God redeems the trials we face for our good.
Joseph is given a dream of greatness and royalty, but he’s rejected and despised. Each time people try to harm him, he ends up closer to the throne. After his enemies presume him dead, he ascends to power and brings salvation and forgiveness to many. Joseph shows what kind of Saviour to look for and helps to identify Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s plan.
Many people “love” their Roomba because it’s programmed to clean their floors for them, but we wouldn’t celebrate that kind of love. Someone with an unflinching dedication to a hopelessly malfunctioning and even defiant vacuum cleaner would stand out. Through the fall, we see a God who loves the unlovable. And we can know Him in a way that wouldn’t have been possible without it.
COVID-19 is on everyone’s minds right now, and it forces us to ask some tough questions. Does God exist? Does He care? Can He see what’s happening right now? Is He powerless to do anything about it? I’ve seen people ask these questions in recent weeks. I’ve seen people ask them after the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in 2011. And I’ve seen people ask them after personal tragedies like the death of a loved one or a painful divorce. The place where I always bring those questions when they come is the opening chapters of Genesis and the story of Adam and Eve. Let me explain how I feel their account answers the hard questions of COVID-19.
The question gets phrased in a variety of ways. The rabbi, Harold Kushner, famously asked, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Many times, during our three-year struggle to build a parking lot I asked, “When we’re trying to do something good, why does it seem as if you’re making it so hard?” A couple of months ago, I was asked how the apostle Paul dealt with so much discouragement in his life. Throughout the summer, I have been mulling over these questions. Let me share what I’ve learned.
Seeing tragedy in his childhood challenged his views about life. Facing tragedy as an adult challenged the values that he lived for. And addressing tragedy in his life has given him the satisfaction that his heart longed for. Let me share three things I learned about tragedy from Sujo John’s life.
Psalms is quoted in the New Testament more than any other Old Testament book. Obviously, it has much to offer. Have you ever thought about how it’s put together? With 150 psalms, you could be forgiven for not being aware of the structure of the book. Have you ever noticed, for example, that the Book of Psalms is actually made up of five books (Psalms 1-41; 42-72; 73-89; 90-106; 107-150) that most scholars believe are related to the five book of Moses? So just as we have five books of Moses to read, we have five books of Psalms to pray and sing. This is minor, though. Missing the forest for the trees in the Psalms is far more problematic in other ways because it teaches some crucial lessons about how to approach life and what to expect from it.
