Genuflecting at the Bush
No one is an atheist when in a fox hole is a saying I have heard now and again. However, there are all kinds of foxholes in life. One does not need to be a soldier to seek out a place where we can retreat into and pray for all the comforts and security we desperately seek when things get out of the control that we only think we have over the things of life.
I am learning that it is true that when we are most vulnerable, we are also most aware of the pain and the loss of others. Every situation I find myself in is another link in the chain of almost unbearable pain and what seems to be pointless loss from which each and every one of us will experience. One of the most memorable lines from the 80’s movie The Princess Bride says “life is pain”. Every single moment of every single day, somewhere in this world, a mother is lamenting the loss of a son, a husband is lamenting the loss of a wife, and someone else is contemplating ending it all. What is the chief end of all of this? Why do bad things happen to good people? These questions are forever repeated because it is a question every culture has had to come to terms with in some form or another. When faced with the tragedies we all must endure, for a few moments we share a collective memory of loss, of the pain of loss from all deaths, from the onset of time.
September 11th the world let out a collective moan as we all had to ask that horrid question, why? Our nation’s conscious, the free world’s conscious was on that day was unified in purpose and mission. We all sought in our own way to answer the questions that plagued us to our very core.
It was at that point that we cried out to God with one collective moan, and one collective yell and said “show yourself” We ask that He comfort us and we asked that He not abandon us. Of course, we hardly ever make those types of requests when things are going well.
I remember in High School my counselor had a poster that said “not feeling close to God, guess who moved?” The life of Moses can show us a thing or two. Moses did not see God in natural setting of beauty or glory, but rather, in a little scrub brush. Scripture notes that Moses “hid his face” from God. Moses saw God’s glory in the lowly burning bush and was aware of His Majesty. God’s presence was there.
God says to Moses,
“I have indeed seen the suffering of my people. I have heard how they cry out” (Exodus 3:7)
Gods exchange with Moses takes place in a burning thorn-bush because God heard and knew the suffering of His people. God did not appear to Moses in a lush forest or other place of natural beauty, because God wanted Moses to understand that He not only knew the suffering, but heard, felt and shared that suffering as well. If we can not learn to see God in the scrub brush, then we indeed are the ones who moved.
It is through the lens of my own personal suffering recently that I have seen the refining fire of a God who has been at work in my spouse. She has had her health battles and I am starting to see the fruits of that suffering bear a stronger woman that is more reflective of the character of Christ. I can only hope that when I am feeling better and can safely say I am on the other side of this battle that I to have been refined in the fires of God’s furnace. It is during times like this I begin to see the real beauty of those who I love and those who love me. It is at times such as this that I have come to understand the kind of love that is real commitment and loyalty.
God no more abandons us in our pain anymore than we abandon our loved ones in their pain and suffering. We are the ones that abandon God when in times that we can not seem to bear. Pain, fear and suffering are all a part of what it means to be a part of Gods creation.
If we are to grow as believers in Christ we have to move from the milk and easy food that God gives us at first and Grow. We can only truly grow by looking in the mirror and seeing the pain we are in reflected at us. When we can see that pain and make the decision to grow in it, and not run from God, or the situation, we can begin to grow in our walk. That is what God did the day Jesus died on the cross. He saw himself marred, scorned and abandoned. He died at the cross, but then was raised from the dead. We to must also decide to let the pain and suffering transfigure us. Pain and suffering serves to humble us. When we are truly humble is when God can truly work on us and in us to bless others.
In our times of pain, suffering and loss, God is not abandoning us. In fact, He is walking closer than he usually does. In the same way God oversaw Creation, He oversees our pain. We are on this earth to grow more into the likeness of Christ. Yes, it is harder to see God in these times, but he is there and ever present. It is times like this that we must remember His words in Deuteronomy 31:8 “The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”It is hard to claim to know God until we have experienced real fear, pain, loss and suffering. God came to this Earth in the form of a man, in part, so that he could empathize with our fear and pain. We can take so much comfort in knowing that the God we serve is not a pie in the sky God who checks in with us once in awhile and who really has no clue what we face every day.We can know that the God who walks with us faced the same things as well. Fear, doubt, pain and hunger, were all real problems Jesus faced.
We do not need to cry out to God when we are in pain or when we are suffering. God is already there wanting us to grow into our fullest potential as Creation was first intended. In the same way that marriage, children and family expand our definitions and understanding of love, so too does pain, suffering and loss expand our definitions and understanding of life, meaning and purpose.
Each of us, at one time or another, is faced with our own burning bush, that place not of profound beauty, but rather that place and time where fear, pain, suffering and the promise of Gods enduring love and commitment to us, converge. It is also true that to cry out to God is to cry out for peace, meaning and purpose. It is hard to see our personal pain and the overall pain of our society and situation as a means to that end. The good news is that God is the God who loves to use these times to bless us, and in the end we will end up glorifying him.
Lord hear my prayer. Let me see today as a day to glean in your fields of wisdom and grace. Help me to learn the lessons of today, so that tomorrow will be a better and more glorious day.
- Thoughts about Life , Thoughts on God's people
- Comments(2)
Suffering is a tough mystery, isn’t it? I mean, when you are in it, it is hard to feel anything but pain. At least it is for me. And if a friend is in it, I don’t want to minimize or discount the pain my mentioning growth that may happen.
And yet, all of us have found that living through hard times is a part of becoming a more deeper and committed Christian.
Thank goodness I don’t have to understand this. I just need to live in it.
AMEN to that!