Recently, as parents, we had to do something I hope we never have to do again - call 911. Our little boy woke up screaming from stomach pain a few nights ago, and it only got worse. He couldn't walk. He couldn't stand. He couldn't do anything, but lie in my lap and writhe in pain.
He cried out to his dad to pray for the pain to go away: "Pray Dad!" Of course, his father had already been praying, but Seth wanted to hear Steve say it. So, he did...but the pain didn't go away. My precious little boy cried and cried, asking me why God didn't stop his pain.
He didn't understand. He had prayed. His dad had prayed. His mom had prayed. Why didn't God make it go away? He fully expected God to make him better...right then. Grasping for words that a little one could understand, I gave him the best Mommy answer I could, "I don't know why God's not making the pain go away. He could do it. We'll just keep praying, but sometimes God uses other people to make the pain go away. The doctors will be here in a minute to help you."
His response was one that struck me, "But Jesus could do it NOW."
Thankfully, the stomach pain subsided by the time we got to the hospital. Thankfully, the staff at Johnston Memorial were wonderful. Thankfully, our little boy came out of the ordeal with a new-found interest in doctors and nurses. "Mom, I think I want to be a doctor when I grow up...no, maybe an ambulance driver," he said with a smile on his face, before drifting off to a peaceful sleep in that big hospital bed. Thankfully, our ordeal for the night was over...
But Seth's comment remained in my thoughts...
"But Jesus could do it NOW!"
I had caught myself saying the same thing only a couple of days earlier. Why did He wait? Why did Jesus choose to do something "the hard way," instead of fixing it for me immediately?
Isn't it interesting that for the most part, we really do think that God should be at our beck and call. We think He should give us an easy life, filled with pain-free days and glorious mountain-top experiences. That is what we truly think, when we get pushed to our limits in situations that are completely out of our control.
And yet, time and time again, Scripture reminds us that God is not at our beck and call...that our life is not about us. It's about the glory He can receive through what He does in us.
I'm sure Joseph didn't think it was very fun to be sold into slavery, put in prison for something he didn't do, accused of wrong-doing, forgotten about, and then finally released after years of captivity (Gen. 37-45). But he came to understand God's plan, when he realized that if those things had not happened, thousands and thousands of people would have died from starvation...including his family.
Daniel probably didn't relish the thought of being thrown into the lion's den (Dan. 6:1-28). And yet, had he not been taken captive from his home, stolen away, and forced to work for someone who served other gods, we wouldn't have the account of Daniel in the lion's den. We wouldn't know the power of God's ability to shut the mouths of lions, nor would Daniel's king probably ever come to a head knowledge - at least - of the ONE TRUE GOD.
I'm sure the people in the early church would have rather not been murdered, beheaded, tortured, etc.... And yet, if the persecution had not come, Believers would not have been scattered in all directions, sending them and the Gospel out to parts of the world they had never considered visiting. The persecution of the saints was the main reason for the spreading of the Gospel in Biblical times.
If Jesus had not "endured the cross, despising the shame" (Heb. 12;2), then all of humanity would be in a heap of trouble!
Is. 43:1-3a says, "But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel, 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you: and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel Your Savior....'"
Read that passage again...Isaiah doesn't say "IF we pass through the
waters" or "IF we pass through the fire." Isaiah says, "WHEN" we do.
Yes, there are times that God allows "stuff" to happen....stuff that we never dreamed would happen. And the option is always there - He could change it immediately. Jesus could wipe it all away with one thought...and sometimes He does. But then there are other times when He is patient with us in our suffering. He doesn't immediately snatch away the thing that breaks us. It's at that point when we have to put our faith into action and trust that He knows best....that He wants what's best for us...that He is still in control, even when our emotions are not. It's then when we have to remember that He is WITH us and is causing something greater to be born IN us.
Oh, if we could just see what's on the other side of our suffering. If we could just see how God takes the stench and turns it into the sweet smelling aroma of Christ for those around us, then our faith would never falter. It would never waiver again. But then, it wouldn't be faith.
We don't often get a chance to see those things ahead of time, but there is something we can do in the midst of them. We can choose to see past what we think we know and see into what God is doing. Read that again: We can choose to see past what we think we know and see into what God is doing. We can choose to believe that He really is with us as we pass through the water and walk through the fire and that He will be glorified and uplifted though it all. We can choose to know that He is creating in us, more of Himself.
Knowing that - really knowing that - makes the WADING and WAITING have purpose and meaning, giving us joy in the midst of the "stuff."
Thank You, Lord, that we "have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body" (2 Cor. 4:7-11). Praise You, Jesus. Praise You.
No comments:
Post a Comment