BAKING A CAKE

“We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28 NRSV)

The story is told of a very ill little boy who was telling his Grandma how "everything" was going wrong -- school was too hard, family problems, his severe pain, just all the hardships he was going through. Meanwhile, Grandma was baking a cake. She asked the child if he would like a snack, which of course he did.

"Here. Have some cooking oil."

"Yuck," said the boy.

"How about a couple of raw eggs?"

"Gross, Grandma."

"Would you like some flour then?  Or, maybe baking soda?"

"Grandma, those are all yucky!"

Grandma replied: "Yes, Sweetheart, those things seem bad all by themselves. But, when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake! God works the same way. Many times we wonder why He could let us go through such bad and difficult times, but God knows that, when He takes those things and puts them all in His order, they always work for good! We just have to trust Him and, eventually the yucky stuff will be used to make something wonderful in our lives!"

God will work all things for our good if we but love and trust Him!

– Author Unknown

#6362

THE QUESTION OF SUFFERING – Part 3 of 3

Let me finish the story of Leslie and me in the fog in Wisconsin. We were following the taillights of that truck when the fog slowly began to lift, the rain let up and we entered a town with some lights. And there, silhouetted against the night sky, we saw the steeple of a church and the cross of Christ. After driving through the confusion of the fog for so long, that image struck me with poignancy I'll never forget -- because it was through the cross that Jesus conquered the world for us.

God's ultimate answer to suffering isn't an explanation; it's His incarnation. He isn't some distant, detached and disinterested deity; He entered our world and personally experienced our pain.

Jesus is there in the lowest places of our lives. As philosopher Peter Kreeft says: “Are you broken? He was broken, like bread, for us. Are you despised? He was despised and rejected of men. Do you cry out that you can't take any more? He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Did someone betray you? He was sold out. Are your most tender relationships broken? He loved and was rejected. Jesus is much closer than your closest friend. Because if you've put your trust in Him, then He is in you. And, therefore, your sufferings are His sufferings; your sorrow is His sorrow.”

So when tragedy strikes, when suffering comes, when you're wrestling with pain -- and when you make the choice to run into His arms, here's what you're going to discover: peace to deal with the present, courage to deal with your future and the incredible promise of eternal life in heaven.

“I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. But be courageous! I have conquered the world.” (John 16:33)

-- Lee Strobel in “The Case for Christianity Answer Book” 

#6165

PAIN – THE GREAT TEACHER

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”  (Romans 8:28 NIV)

Luci Shaw, my dear friend, mentor, and favorite poet, was widowed in midlife. When her husband Harold was diagnosed with cancer, Luci made a thoughtful vow to God. She said, “Lord, I promise never to give up on You, never to desert the faith.” Luci said that that promise, “like a marriage vow that sometimes staples a faltering relationship,” held her during the seven years of Harold’s illness, and finally, in his death (from “God in the Dark”). I think Luci exemplifies how a woman of wisdom responds to suffering. Her pain, which she did not deny, was immense. She told me that being a widow was “radical surgery – like being cut in half.” But she also resolved to trust God and to learn from her suffering. In an article in "Christian Living” (June, 1986), Luci said, “I’m learning to welcome pain, and not to dodge it. It’s one of the most valuable lessons. Pain has a refining work to do in us, if we welcome it. It teaches us what is temporal, what is superficial, and what is abiding and deep. I’m trying to let pain do its work in me.” 

-- Dee Brestin in “A Woman of Insight”

#5923

PAIN – THE GREAT EQUALIZER

“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”  (Revelation 21:4 NKJV)

Affliction is a great equalizer.  It makes us all brothers and sisters in a very special way.  Almost anyone who has ever shared a hospital room remembers their roommate; they have traveled together in the fellowship of suffering, and even if they never see each other again, they often feel uniquely close.  This is partly because pain treats us all alike.  It's easier to endure sickness in a private room than in a ward, but when you have to depend on a nurse or an aide for bedpan and bathing, it makes no difference whether you're rich or poor, learned or ignorant. And if you're accustomed to being independent, the burden may be all the harder to bear.

In 1893, shortly after Grover Cleveland had come into his second term in the presidency, it was discovered that he had cancer of the throat and jaw.  National leaders feared that if his illness became public knowledge, the shaky financial condition of the country might grow into a full panic.  So they arranged for a medical team to join the president on a yacht, and skilled surgeons operated as the craft rolled up the East River. "If you must have surgery," someone might say, "that's the way to have it."  Perhaps. But Cleveland wrote later, "I have learned how weak the strongest man is under God's decree; and I see in a new light the necessity of doing my allotted work in the full apprehension of the coming night."

Pain is a great equalizer.  Peasant or president, rich or poor, the dimensions are pretty much the same. 

-- J. Ellsworth Kalas in “If Experience Is Such a Good Teacher Why Do I Keep Repeating the Course?”

#5922

PERSEVERANCE FINISHES THE JOB

“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  (2 Peter 1:5-8 NIV)

The word perseverance literally means “to bear up under.” It describes someone who remains steadfast in the face of severe trials, obstacles, and suffering. Perseverance is a never-give-up attitude, a commitment to move forward when everything is conspiring to hold you back. No matter what happens, you finish the job. Think of the English word itself: persevere. The prefix per conveys the idea of “through,” so perseverance is the ability to go through a severe time.

Perseverance turns ordeals into opportunities. It gives us the opportunity to finish what we begin, to outlast pain and sorrow, to strive until we accomplish things that are difficult, and to demonstrate God’s grace in all the seasons of life.

-- David Jeremiah in “Keep the Faith”

#5919

THE ANGUISHED CRY

The prayers of those whose lives are smooth and serene are markedly different from the prayers of those whose lives are ragged and rugged. The prayers of the latter are often anguished entreaties poured from hearts about to break…

God does the extraordinary when people realize their inadequacy and learn to call on Him in anguish of heart and utter dependence…

The pain that prompts the anguished cry does not magically disappear once the cry is uttered. But knowing that the cry has been heard and will be answered alleviates the pain. In the anticipation of the answer, healing has begun.

Then Hannah prayed: “My heart rejoices in the Lord! Oh, how the Lord has blessed me! Now I have an answer for my enemies, as I delight in Your deliverance. No one is Holy like the Lord! There is no one besides You; there is no Rock like our God.”  (1 Samuel 2:1-2 NLT)

-- Excerpted from Stuart Briscoe in “Daily Study Bible for Men”

#5694

HE UNDERSTANDS YOUR SUFFERING

“There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, He refused to drink it.”  (Matthew 27:34 NIV)

Before the nail was pounded, a drink was offered. Mark says the wine was mixed with myrrh. Matthew described it as wine mixed with gall. Both myrrh and gall contain sedative properties that numb the senses. But Jesus refused them. He refused to be stupefied by the drugs, opting instead to feel the full force of His suffering.

Why? Why did He endure all these feelings? Because He knew you would feel them too.

He knew you would be weary, disturbed, and angry. He knew you’d be sleepy, grief stricken, and hungry. He knew you’d face pain. If not pain of the body, the pain of the soul… pain too sharp for any drug. He knew you’d face thirst. If not a thirst for water, at least a thirst for truth, and the truth we glean from the image of a thirsty Christ is -- He understands. 

-- Max Lucado

#5573

YOUR CHURCH NEEDS YOU – Part 2 of 3

“If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.”  (1 Corinthians 12:26 NIV)

This verse indicates church bodies should be so united that if one member suffers, the rest of the congregation shares the pain. For churches to function this way, people must learn sensitivity to God’s activity in the lives of other members….

You need to prepare yourself before going to church so you’re ready to join God in whatever work He may be doing in your congregation. Too often, church members attend services and merely seek out their friends. It never dawns on them that people may be there who are experiencing tremendous pain and hurt. There may be first-time visitors without anyone to offer even a greeting.

The Holy Spirit can guide you to someone who is hurting if you are sensitive to His leading. Perhaps as you enter the worship space, the Spirit will prompt you to sit in a different place than you normally do in order to talk with someone who needs encouragement at the close of the service…. Every week, the Spirit knows who is hurting or who is seeking answers from God or who desperately needs to know if God’s people care. If you’re sensitive to the Spirit’s nudging, you can be God’s instrument of healing and love right in your own church family. 

-- Excerpted from “Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God” by Henry and Richard Blackaby and Claude King

#5528

UNDERSTANDING OUR PAIN

“We despised Him and rejected Him -- a man of sorrows, acquainted with bitterest grief.”  (Isaiah 53:3a TLB)

One evening the members of my small group were discussing that verse, and someone asked an intriguing question: what, exactly, is the “bitterest” grief? Is there one pain that outweighs all others? One hurt that has no equal? We threw out all sorts of possibilities: divorce, the death of a mate, the death of a child, Alzheimer’s, cancer… But in the end we decided that the “bitterest” grief is the one you happen to be going through at the moment.

That’s the perfect answer. And the perfect message for hurting believers everywhere.

Whatever agony you happen to be going through right now, Jesus is acquainted with it. Don’t be fooled by the fact that He lived a couple of thousand years ago. Satan would love for you to think that because Jesus didn’t live during our hectic, complicated times, He couldn’t possibly understand what you’re going through. Not true. Pain is pain, whether you’re wearing a tunic and sandals or Dockers and a Polo. And Jesus had plenty of pain. More than enough to understand how you feel. 

-- Mark Atteberry in “Free Refills: Coming Back for More of Jesus”

#5450

SIGNS OF HOPE

“But as for me, afflicted and in pain -- may Your salvation, God, protect me.”  (Psalm 69:29) 

When we become aware that we do not have to escape our pains, but that we can mobilize them into a common search for life, those very pains are transformed from expressions of despair into signs of hope.

-- Henri Nouwen

#5425 

PASSION AND COMPASSION

Just as the healed, healthy body gets up, stretches, and moves, so does the human personality healed by God long to be involved in loving, creative encounter with other human beings.  Reaching out to heal others is a spontaneous development in the growing wholeness of our spirits.  Just as the yeast kneaded into the dough acts, grows, and manifests itself throughout the changing loaf, so does the radical act of God within us work change in us and through us. This change is that of passion and compassion as we encounter the agony of the torn, fragmented world around us.

Within a few months after consenting to God's deep healing within myself, I began to notice a new, painful awareness of the hurting people around me. On buses, in airports, on the busy sidewalks of the city I began to notice faces lined with pain and weariness. It became painful to open the newspaper and to watch the evening news. As the healing deepened within me, the sensitivity grew. I began to want to do something for the wounds of others. I began to realize that this longing was an inseparable part of growing within the healing of God's love. 

-- Flora Slosson Wuellner in “Prayer, Stress, and Our Inner Wounds”, published by The Upper Room, Nashville, TN.   Used with permission.

#5381

WHY THE SCARS?

“While they were still talking about this, Jesus Himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at My hands and My feet. It is I Myself! Touch Me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.’ When He had said this, He showed them His hands and feet.”  (Luke 24:36-40 NIV)

One detail of the Easter stories has always intrigued me: Why did Jesus keep the scars from His crucifixion? Presumably He could have had any resurrected body He wanted, yet He chose one identifiable mainly by scars that could be seen and touched. Why?

I believe the story of Easter would be incomplete without those scars on the hands, the feet, and the side of Jesus… The scars are, to Him, an emblem of life on our planet, a permanent reminder of those days of confinement and suffering.

I take hope in Jesus’ scars. From the perspective of heaven, they represent the most horrible event that has ever happened in the history of the universe. Even that event, though -- the crucifixion -- Easter has turned into a memory. Because of Easter, I can hope that the tears we shed, the blows we receive, the emotional pain, the heartache over lost friends and loved ones, all these will become memories, like Jesus’ scars. Scars never completely go away, but neither do they hurt any longer. We will have re-created bodies, a re-created heaven and earth. We will have a new start, an Easter start. 

-- Philip Yancey in “The Jesus I Never Knew”

#5332

FACING PAIN

“Yes, even if I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will not be afraid of anything, because You are with me. You have a walking stick with which to guide and one with which to help. These comfort me.”  (Psalm 23:4 NLV)

Scott Peck began a best-selling book with a sentence only three words long: "Life is difficult." Life starts difficult, when we're forcibly pushed from the warm, soothing womb into the cold, glaring lights, then turned upside down and smacked. Life ends difficult, when we're struck down by cancer, emphysema, stroke, or old age. And every day in between has some degree of difficulty.

So very early on, we learn to soothe our pain [in a variety of inappropriate ways. We try all sorts of things.]…

But the bottom line is, we still have pain, because life is difficult. And that "Spirituality is all about what you do with your pain." You can choose to medicate it, or you can face it in God's presence. One path stifles growth, the other promotes it.

-- Kevin A. Miller, from PreachingToday.com

#5258

GOD IS ACTIVE IN THE DARK

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.”  (Luke 2:8-9)

When she was very young, one of my granddaughters became afraid of the dark. To fall asleep she needed a night-light in her room.

I wonder if you, like my granddaughter, are also afraid of the dark. Not the dark of night but the dark times in life, when pressures, problems, pain, and even persecution envelope us in a fog of confusion or depression… those spiritually dark times when God seems far away.

Please know that from the very beginning, God has been active in the dark. At the earliest dawn of creation, the Bible says, “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering.” (Genesis 1:2)

If you are presently living in darkness… of a humanly hopeless situation… of death or disease or divorce… of fear or failure or frustration… of doubt or danger… of confusion or depression… be assured that God is with you. “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.” (Psalm 23:4 NIV)  God will change things, and He has a word for you.

God is active in the dark. Just ask the shepherds. 

-- Adapted from Anne Graham Lotz in “Fixing My Eyes on Jesus”

#5245

COMPASSION FOR OUR DEFENSES

“When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ After He said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’”  (John 20:19-21 NRSV)

God does not condemn us for our wounded ability to trust.  You and I often tightly close our inner doors out of confusion, fear, and pain. God understands that our inner defenses, our emotional armor, our separating walls have grown in us for a reason.  And this God of limitless mercy will not kick down our doors, tear off our masks and armor, or go away angry.

This God, whom we see through Jesus, will continually come to us through our defensive doors, to be with us in power and comfort in our darkness.

-- Flora Slosson Wuellner in “Heart of Healing, Heart of Light”, published by The Upper Room, Nashville, TN.   Used with permission.

#5180

A REAL PEACE

“Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 4:6-7 NRSV)

Tragedies bring various responses. God does not seem to deal with them or the people affected by them in a predictable manner.  For some, there seems to be a gift of peace that prevents a total collapse. For others, that peace does not surface for months or even years. Whatever the reaction, those who experience peace early are no better or worse, no stronger or weaker. The experience of one person should not be demanded for another.  Lack of peace does not mean lack of faith. People in pain do not need sermons on peace. They need love and care and assistance.  Remember, faith in God will produce a peace that will go beyond all understanding. It probably won't be an instant peace, but it will be a real peace. 

-- Stephen Arterburn and Jack Felton in “More Jesus, Less Religion” 

#5126

THE STORY OF OUR LIVES - Part 3 of 3

When we are passing through those awful chapters and difficult seasons [of life], we sometimes cannot see God or imagine how things will work out. But when we look back over our lives, in hindsight, we see how God moved the plot forward, enfolding it into the story of God’s redemption in our lives.

Here is what I know -- God can and will transform our pain, redeem our suffering, and lift us out of the darkest pits. Out of our dark moments, God writes a story of triumph. With God as our co-author, the dark times are never the end of the story…

Your story is not complete; the remaining chapters are yet to be written. God’s plan for your life is not yet set in stone; you have a chance to shape the story. As you do, this is God’s will: that you “lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God.” (Colossians 1:10) 

-- Adam Hamilton in “Why? - Making Sense of God’s Will”

#5014

THE COMPASSION OF CHRIST

"Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:22-23 NIV)

The word COMPASSION comes from two Greek roots: COM meaning "with" and PASSIO meaning "to suffer". To be compassionate is to enter into the suffering of another person and share in the pain -- “to suffer with.” When the burden of pain is shared, it is lightened. Each of us can point to experiences where a friend, a loved one, a nurse, a pastor, or a counselor helped us by understanding our pain and sharing it. This is what Christ does when we are hurting: Christ enters our pain and, in effect, wipes away our tears. 

-- Adapted from “Prepare Him Room” by Robert Martin Walker

#5003

THE PAIN OF GRIEF

“O’ Lord have mercy on me in my anguish. My eyes are red from weeping; my health is broken from sorrow.”  (Psalm 31:9)

Real grief is not healed by time.... If time does anything, it deepens our grief.  The longer we live, the more fully we become aware of who she/he was for us, and the more intimately we experience what their love meant to us.  Real, deep love is, as you know, very unobtrusive, seemingly easy and obvious, and so present that we take it for granted.  Therefore, it is often only in retrospect - or better, in memory - that we fully realize its power and depth.  Yes, indeed, love often makes itself visible in pain. 

-- Henri Nouwen

#4940

FIX YOUR EYES ON JESUS

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”  (Hebrews 12:1-2a NIV)

When you're in severe pain or distress, life becomes pretty simple.  You're in survival mode, and you have neither the heart nor the strength to spread around your emotional energy.  As Chuck Swindoll might say, "Life gets boiled down to the nubbies."       

Instrument-certified pilots know what this is all about.  When visibility drops to nil, and storms rage around them, it is second nature for them to focus on the "artificial horizon" gauge on their instrument panel.  No matter what their senses might tell them or what weird phenomena they see through the windscreen, they know the gauge will give them their true position and keep them flying level.  They may feel as though they are in a steep dive, or even flying upside down.  Yet their eyes must lock onto that gauge, and they must respond accordingly.  When it comes to survival, it doesn't really matter what they feel like; what matters is what their instruments say.

In the midst of life’s storms, fix your eyes on Jesus.

-- Adapted from Stephen Arterburn and Jack Felton in “More Jesus, Less Religion” 

#4869