This is one of the many questions I have thought through lately knowing the difficult months that await Jenni and I. I cannot answer this question from experience, for this is the first real trial I have ever walked through. What I can speak from is what we are learning as God's grace meets us during this difficult time through opening up our minds to understand His Word.
In this time of suffering what is it that Jenni and I need most? Is it strength, resolve, companionship, peace, comfort, intimacy with one another? Is it truth, is it God’s Word, is it a sermon, a phone conversation, a lunch with friends to laugh and forget about this whole thing for an hour? What is it that our hearts need the most?
Our greatest need is to have the eternal God speak directly into this significant suffering. We need the truth of who God is and what He is like particularly with regard to what we are walking through. We need to taste and see His purposes, we need to behold and encounter the powerful effect of His unfailing promises. We need to hear God talking and experience Him working.
Is this a time for theology? If you mean truth about God, who He is, what He is like, and what He promises to do for us…ABSOLUTELY! Our primary need is to be near to God and hear His perspective on this. Why? Because God’s voice speaks louder than the screams of our pain, shines brighter that any present darkness, endures longer than anything that is or could be lost, and is the defining reality for all of life…including suffering. We need to know who it is that is with us to bring good out of our troubles and who purifies our deepest distresses.
Left to ourselves we would be delusional. This affliction would overwhelm us, obsess us and fill us with worry and distraction. God would seem invisible, silent, non-existent. Pain and how this leads to endless imaginations are intoxicating. We would be caught in a tailspin of fear, guilt, regret, confusion, anger, emptiness, and uncertainty. Who wants to live this way, especially in times of suffering?
What we need most in this hour is to hear our Saviors voice through God’s Word and to feel our heavenly Fathers hand by believing the truth found in God’s Word. We need to hear this voice and believe this truth as we spend those precious moments with God everyday alone. We need to hear it when we cry, when we pray, when we laugh, when we’re weary from the fight to believe. We need to hear it when we are staring at the sonogram machine, or when the doctor tells us our baby has minutes or days to live. We need to hear His voice and believe His truth as we fellowship with our friends and family. If we listen, we will become fearless. If we listen, we will endure. If we listen, we will fight the good fight. If we listen, we will know that we need to be rescued. If we listen, we will know that we need to be carried into battle, through battle, and finally from the battlefield. If we listen we will persevere. If we listen, we will live.
We need to look outward and cry outward rather than inward. We need to listen to God whispering in our ear, “I am with you. I am your God. I will still give you aid. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will cause you to stand. I will uphold you by my all-good, all-powerful hand.” Oh Lord, help us to listen to you with faith!
God is talking, even when dark clouds hover over our lives. Are you listening? If you listen you will live.
1 comment:
Hello dear friends. How my heart needed to hear how the Lord is meeting you. We are so very sorry for the heartbreaking news. I cannot imagine the pain of what you are going through. But I must say that reading this has challenged me greatly. Thank you for your example in how you are running to God for His comfort. For turning to Him and listening to His voice as you walk through this time. How easy it is to forget that He is a great God who knows all things and Who's love abounds. I will be praying for you often dear friends. May God continue to hold you in His arms and speak truth to you. We love you. Christina Norwood
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