A young couple in our church is waiting to deliver a baby they know may not survive delivery. A friend who survived brain tumors and cancer in other areas of his body is a walking testimony to the healing of God but he just lost his wife after her comparatively brief struggle with the same disease. Another friend lost her father and a young woman I know has had her second emotionally draining miscarriage. An elderly friend who's ready to go to heaven doesn't understand why the Lord doesn't take her home to be with Him. A newly wed young man lies in bed trying to regain feeling and use of his legs. Any one of these hard-hitting hurts make me feel like I've been punched in the faith.
The question "why?" bangs on my brain but usually leaves unanswered. We can't help speculating, and we may even hit on some plausible answers but really, we're shooting in the dark when we try to give specific answers to the big picture question of why God allows these things to happen. In the face of such hard-hitting, breath-stealing hurts, we can keep coming up empty by asking "Why?" or we can anchor ourselves into Who will love us through the pits and up the cliffs and show us His goodness on these dark, less traveled paths. As the refrain in the song "What if God Says No?" by The Akins says, "It doesn't mean He loves us less" when He allows life's pain to touch us. His love is unfailing and purposeful, even when we feel like we've been punched in the faith and don't know why.
Father, I accept that You are Love so anchor my heart in that Truth so my faith doesn't falter or break when the wind turns and starts tearing the shingles off my insulated life. Help us store all our "whys" away for the day we can sit and talk with You and let You draw diagrams in the sky of how the painful parts of our life were used for good in the lives of others as well as in our own lives. For now, Lord, teach us to "take heart and wait" for You. In Your strength, You will lead us and we praise You that we don't have to depend on our own strength in times of unspeakable grief.
In the name of Jesus Who "disappointed" Mary and Martha by not showing up when their brother was sick and then showed them Your goodness in a new form!
"I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD." Psalm 27:13-14
"In Your unfailing love You will lead the people You have redeemed. In Your strength You will guide them to Your holy dwelling." Exodus 15:13
*To hear the song "What if God Says No?" go to this link and click on the song under Music Player (bottom left of page): http://www.facebook.com/theakins
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