03/12/2020
When we are in the midst of some earthly challenge, or tragedy, and our prayers have been made, but the answer escapes us, or is not to our liking, do we begin to question God? Perhaps God intervenes, a miracle occurs, but it isn’t exactly what we have envisioned; do we approach Him with indignation and frustration because what He gave us wasn’t enough in our eyes? Well how do we, creatures of time, presume to think that our thoughts, or plans, are more perfect, good, or wise, than Gods will for us?
“Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind: “Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words?”
Job 38:1-2 NLT
A tornado passed through Nashville Tennessee last week and caused tremendous damage, and also took lives. In the midst of that storm it picked up dust, bricks, wood, debris, and all sorts of things and carried them within the funnel of that wind. It all looked so chaotic to our human eye, but to God it was perfectly ordered... he knew every speck that swirled and was made part of that storm, and every life that was impacted by it. We, on the other hand, know only what passed before us, and even that was confusing, and terrifying in the moment, and, unlike with God, it will eventually fade from our memory with the passage of time. Yet, God remembers, and His will has accounted for in the midst of that storm in ways unfathomable to us.
““Pay attention to this, Job. Stop and consider the wonderful miracles of God! Do you know how God controls the storm and causes the lightning to flash from his clouds?”
Job 37:14-15 NLT
We simply know the storm, the damage it caused to our surroundings, and the lives it took from us, but God’s understanding is complete, as is His will for us, and all of creation, and every particle of dust, or soul that came to Him that night was perfectly knit into His will. To Him the storm and all that transpired that night didn’t just happen... it happened, it is still happening, and every ramification of it that we believe might yet happen... He already knows.
““I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.””
Revelation 1:8 NLT
God is not held by time, but holds it in His own hand. So we are left to weep at the tragedy, and mourn those who have been lost to us, but with God their lives are all still real, and now... as is every joy we had with those we know no more, and every tear that falls from our eyes in the now. We don’t understand this moment in time... how we will go on, why we lost those we lost, or the depths of our pain, but God does, and if we allow Him to help us His merciful will will comfort us. Sometimes in that moment He will mercifully reveal to us the path ahead...
“Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast. The voice said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.” And instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it.”
Revelation 4:1-2 NLT
But more times than not we are not given a view like John was here, and we must go on trusting in Him, loving Him, and leaning on the understanding we receive from His Holy Spirit each day. God’s thoughts are so far above our own, but He is not aloof, and is to be trusted to do all things for our ultimate good.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV
The Lord tells us that all things work together for good, but as we live in our present moment in time that isn’t always clear to us. We can’t see the days ahead, or the ramifications of every possible outcome, so we must make a choice... will we question His wisdom as Job did? Will we become bitter and angry with Him, and lash out, or walk away? Or, will we allow our trust in Him to comfort us in His promises, and allow Him to comfort us where we are?
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28 ESV
Then when our answer does come we are often not satisfied with it. Somehow it doesn’t seem complete. Maybe we prayed for healing, but we have a limp for the rest of our lives, perhaps our home was destroyed and we prayed for a new house, but it isn’t quite what we had envisioned. This happened to the Apostle Paul too, and it helps us to hear how he came to understand this. It isn’t about the physical here and now, but about the eternity that we are moving towards. So do we continue to pray for the removal of the thorn, or do we accept the miracle, and the blessing in the lesson that comes with it...
“So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 ESV
For us in Nashville the physical storm has passed, but the mental and spiritual storm still rages. In our own personal tornadoes (whatever they might be) we ask God such things as how was this allowed to happen, why did it happen to me, when will I hear your voice and my prayers be answered, and ultimately we cry out... Father, will I ever receive your rest, your comfort, and peace? Will this storm I feel inside ever be calmed?
“Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven.”
Psalms 107:28-30 ESV
God is with us in our storms, and He knows, perfectly where we have been, where we are now, and where we will be. We, on the other hand struggle to cope with where we are now, and to remember, incompletely, where we have been. So when calamity strikes, and God begins to work in it, and through it, do we trust in Him? Can we know that His will is being done even as the tears are flowing down our cheeks? Will we allow the silence, or the thorn that remains, to make us bitter... or cause us to walk away from Him? These are the questions that become the lessons of faith in our lives... What spiritual yarn will they spin and provide to God as He knits the story of our life?
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the will you have for me, and my life. Lord l, I thank you for your goodness that awaits me on the far side of every hardship, suffering, and tragedy. I pray that you will strengthen me, sustain me, and heal my wounds. Hear me as I praise you for your miracles, and hear me singing to you through the tears and the sound of the wind of the storms in my life. Make today a good day Merciful Father, and let me lean on you as I make my way through it. Help me to trust in you a breath at a time Father, because I am not wise enough to see beyond that, or strong enough to make it any further on my own. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God who walks with me into the storms of life. Praise your name Father for going before me as the tornado’s winds howl, and I am pelted by all that is within it. I pray you forgive me my doubts and fears as I hunker behind you, and I thank you as the storm subside. You are great Lord, and I worship you from within the rubble of my life that lies in the aftermath of tragedy... knowing I have been made strong in my weakness, and comfortable bearing the thorns left by the encounter. Your mercy and grace abound Lord, so I pray that you will wrap me in them now, and forevermore.
“Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.
The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me out of my distresses. Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins. Consider how many are my foes, and with what violent hatred they hate me. Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me! Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you.”
Psalms 25:5, 17-21 ESV
Rich Forbes