David, the author of Psalms was not a stranger to grief, pain and despair. He was hunted by Saul, made huge human mistakes and paid the consequences of his sin, which included losing a son, and so much more. Job was tested by God and lost everything! And even Jesus was no stranger to temptation, pain, agony and suffering.
Jesus came in human form so he could experience fully what we do as humans. This act of obedience was painful from a human perspective, but even more so when you consider the price he paid on a cruel cross for the redemption of the human race!
As we experience pain and deal with the burdens of life, very often we learn who we are, what we’re “made of,” perhaps what we want out of life and what is important. It’s what we do with what we learn, that can turn the tide for someone else. The road of our suffering can be a place where we learn not only sympathy for someone going through a similar trial, but empathy. God can use our burdens to bring others, who may not know him, to come to a place where they recognize their need for him.
We are able to give comfort, where otherwise, we probably would not have known how to respond. In some crisis situations, very often we tend to consider who we are taking care of, and forget to take care of ourselves. This compounds our misery. We lose sleep, sometimes weight, due to our lack of focus on self-care. We then, like those we are tending, become ill, even if differently. Our ‘agony’ overrides good sense if we don’t do something about it.
I have a friend who has dealt with a husband who had PTSD for years. He finally went to counseling and has medication to deal with his illness. She on the other hand, has never seen a counselor for her own emotional upheaval for all those years. I learned recently, during a visit to her doctor for a different matter, the doctor saw something that triggered red flags. Because of this visit, my friend is going to see a counselor.
She needs to work through her feelings, and God will likely use this! Yet, for all this person’s grief and suffering, she holds fast to a God who carries her when she can no longer walk! He holds her in the palm of his hand, and that is so reassuring; not just for her, but all of us!
God says he is strong in our weakness. I see myself as weak. I’m outgoing, yet find myself filled with anxiety and fearful, when life is filled with mayhem. We should all be holding fast to the Father, so that when life spirals out of control, sending us to the depths of despair, we can be like Jesus and say, ‘Not my will, but yours, Lord.’ That’s where I want to be.
No comments:
Post a Comment