A
psychologist friend recently told me about a client he described as "a
believer after God's own heart."
Cliff had a singular motivation to please God and serve Him. He worked at his job to serve the Lord first
and earn a living second. He dedicated
himself to the needs of others and genuinely enjoyed meeting those needs.
"Healthy" is almost too feeble a word to describe such a robust
faith.
After
many years of service to Christ, Cliff's wife developed a quickly spreading
cancer. Although many people joined
Cliff in fervent prayer for his wife, she failed rapidly and soon died. Through
it all, however, Cliff did not break his determined gaze on Christ. Instead of allowing the tragedy to shake his
faith, he allowed his deep experience of pain and suffering -- and even depression and confusion -- to push
him even deeper into the arms of the living God.
This
grieving servant of God knew only two things to hold on to, and he held on to
both with all his might. The first was
his unshakable conviction that God was a good God. And while he didn't understand this particular
circumstance or why his wife had to suffer and die, he did know that God was
good and that there had to be a reason he would come to understand one
day. And second, he knew beyond all
doubt that God loved him. In spite of
everything. No matter what. Through it all.
Cliff
clung to those twin truths, refusing to take his eyes off the Lord even when he
was wracked with grief.
--
Stephen Arterburn and Jack Felton in More Jesus, Less Religion
#3224
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