recent events in the lives of others have had me thinking.
sometimes pondering, other times wrestling...
the great mystery of suffering
the question is not if we will suffer but when. there seems to be a correlation anyway... years lived & the suffering one has endured.
just the other day a friend & i batted this subject around as we drove away from baby kaiya's funeral.
half joking but mostly serious, we gave God permission to allow suffering into certain parts of our lives.
You can touch our finances, just not our families.
i'll suffer anything but them. not them, Lord.
have you found yourself in this position before God?
and what if... just what if?
if you're like me, you cannot bear to ask the question. a lump creeps tightly up my throat - tears stinging, if i entertain the thought for more than 3 seconds.
suffering will come.
what shape it will take in our lives is yet to be realized.
but it will come. what will become of us?
will i choose to trust God & believe that He is good?
during our season of infertility i sensed God asking me this question...
Andrea, do you trust Me & believe that I am good?
somedays i did...
a lot of days i didn't
i am challenged today by this post, eat mystery.
despite loss after loss, john believed in the God who sees, the God who knows....and the God that is always good.
Lord, grow my mustard seed faith. make me like the tree whose roots are firmly planted, whose leaves do not wither when the heat comes.
"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD And whose trust is the LORD.
For he will be like a tree planted by the water, That extends its roots by a stream And will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor cease to yield fruit."
jeremiah 17:7-8
great post! ....I love "and His trust IS THE LORD." That's what I think it all has to boil down to, but doesn't happen over night. ~johnna
ReplyDeleteAndrea, I am so glad that you introduced me to Ann's blog- I have been so edified and challenged by it.
ReplyDeleteYou brought some good conviction to me here, sister. I love you and am thankful that you are spurring me on to love the Lord, and trust His goodness all the more.
Love you!
I've struggled with pinning bad theology on God when it comes to suffering. I tend to keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. "Sure, God, you're good. But eventually you'll test or try me to see what I'm made of." That's bad theology. God is good all the time. I still can't reconcile the thoughts, but I try to take them captive because I know God is always good. He's never capricious or fickle. Thanks for the wise reminder!
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