Seeing True Faith Displayed in the Lives of Those With Chronic Conditions

Often, people who are suffering from illness are treated as if we are sick, because we are weak and unassertive. Many are unable to work and are in a position of asking for help, so we are looked at as if we are lazy and lack ambition. The world tells us to be “independent” and to “look out for number one;” but, this is just the attitude that has brought society where it is today… cold, uncaring and extremely selfish.

Society tells us that we must be self-sufficient, independent and to lean on no-one else. Yet, by this way of thinking, we become self-centered beings, unconcerned with who we have to run over to get to our destination. In its attempt to avoid God, it claims that self-faith is supreme, as it measures our character by our material possessions and physical condition.

On the other hand, God is not interested in our worldly successes and material accumulations; in fact, it repulses Him. The good news is that when the world is looking at us like slackers who do not contribute to society, God still sees us as just as valuable to Him as we always were.

A heartbreaking tragedy occurs when even Christians gauge faith by worldly prosperity or good health. They think their successful lives are evidence that their faith is strong and is a fruit of their own influential character. So, when they come across someone who is ill, they claim it is because we “must not have enough faith.”

They think that if we had their faith, we would not be sick; thus, people who are suffering are somehow afflicted, because we lack the willpower, determination and attitude that supplies their faith. Most likely, they are blinded by their own desire to avoid personal difficulty; therefore, they claim we lack belief that we do not have to be sick if we do not want to be and that God could heal us, if we had more faith.

This can be devastating to the Christian who loves God and continues to worship Him despite circumstances. It cuts right to the very heart of our souls and beings when someone accuses us of having a shallow relationship with God. Fellow believers may think our loss of health is proof of our lack of faith; but, when our faith survives and even prospers, despite our losses and condition, God sees a stronger faith, not the weaker faith that people think they see.

It is human to dread hardship and struggles; nobody honestly wants to go through hard times. Many Christians want to believe that their faith with keep them from harm or will somehow make them immune to troubles; therefore, many falsely believe that their faith is some kind of ticket to a healthy, financially prosperous, trouble-free life. So, they measure someone else’s faith by their physical and material status.

Dr. Jeffrey Boyd wrote, “We tend to take health, family, food, and other blessings as being our birthright. The thought does not come easily that these are blessings that we don’t deserve, that God is free to either give or withhold” (Boyd, “Tribute to an American Heroine,” 2001).

Alarmingly, many think of faith as force that is captured when we believe hard enough that we can move God. But, how is this any different than people who try to use their mental powers and belief to try to bend a spoon? Aren’t we doing the same when we try to claim that God must be moved when we force Him to with our thoughts and certainty that He will have no other chance, but to comply?

Our faith is not a guarantee that we will sail smoothly throughout our days; our faith cannot be measured by worldly success and fleshly conditions; faith is not a magic combination of words, emotions and positive thoughts that grant us our every demand; and, faith is not a potion that tells God what to do.

We are being prideful, arrogant humans when we think we are allowed to command things from God. We treat Him like a Santa Claus, saying, “Okay, God, I have been good and have done all of the right things, now you must grant me the desires on my wish-list!”  No, if we were supposed to tell God what to do and He was obligated to comply, who would be God?

Are we having faith in God or in ourselves when we demand to have our way? Doesn’t that show how much faith we actually lack when we cannot trust in His will, plan or decisions? To have faith is to pray for His will, put it into His hands and know that He is God. “This is the confidence we have in approaching God; that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” (NIV, 1 John 5:14). Faith is not thinking that God has to do what we tell Him to do; faith is still worshipping Him and believing in His plan, even when He tells us, “no.”

The Greek noun for faith is pistis; it means: a firm persuasion, trust and “Its chief significance is a conviction respecting God and his Word and the believer’s relationship to Him” (Vines, 1985, pg 61). And, when we say that we believe in God are we merely saying that we believe that God exists? James says, “You believe there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that – and shutter” (NIV, James 2:19).

No, when the Bible uses the phrase, “to believe,” it does not simply mean to acknowledge that God is real. The verb form of pistis, is pisteuo; it is the word that is almost always translated as, “to believe.” The definition of pisteuo is, “to believe…to be persuaded of… to place confidence in, to trust” (Vines, 1985, pg 61).

Even the Roget’s Thesaurus, defines the word believe its verb form as: “confide in, believe in, put one’s trust in; take one’s word for, take at one’s word; pin one’s hope on” (Roget’s College Thesaurus, 1985). When John said, “Whoever believes in Him shall not perish…,” (NIV, John 3:16), “John is not speaking of momentary beliefs and doubts but of continuing, settled attitudes” (NIV Study Bible, pg 1598).

Finally, to have faith means to have trust; and; to believe in means to put trust in our Lord. Therefore, believing in God, means believing in His word and His plan, knowing we can have hope in Him, confide in Him and place our confidence in Him. It is easy to have faith in God when we can see what He is doing and agree with His design; but, when we put our own understanding aside to permit God to move as He wills, even when we think our way is best, that is true faith.

The Bible is very clear that this earth is full of sin, disease and trials.  This world is fallen and imperfect and we, as Christians are neither immune to illness nor live in a bubble of protection from tribulation. Max Lucado said, “We’re not supposed to feel at home here. In fact, pain on earth is God’s reminder that we’re not made for this world (Lucado, 2000).”

After all, If we were guaranteed a perfect existence on earth, how would Heaven be set apart from this life? If earth was devoid of troubles and free of worry, would we still long to be with God or would we be content living here? No, we would be even more content to make earth our home than we already are!

Yet, many who suffer from chronic illness are told that their illness is a sign that they arelacking faith. Instead of being seen as courageous in the midst of a storm, they are looked upon as failures due to their situation. However, “no faith is so precious as that which lives and triumphs in adversity” (Spurgeon, Morning & Evening, 1991).

A true, Biblical test of faith does not measure our accomplishments, health and lack of affliction to prove its existence and depth.

Success does not = faith

Good health does not = faith

Lack of trials does not = faith

No. A lack of adversity does not prove you have faith! Instead, faith is apparent in tribulation. It is measured when trials occur and the person continues to praise and follow God.

Faith = perseverance in adversity

Faith = triumph despite tribulation

Faith = seeking God’s will in all circumstances

Charles Spurgeon wrote, “Faith untried may be true faith, but it is sure to be little faith. It is likely to remain stunted as long as it is without trials. Faith never prospers as well as when all things are against her” (Spurgeon, Morning & Evening, 1997).

How lovely is a person to our Lord, who is battling an illness, but continues to praise Him and study His word? It is a travesty when our brothers and sisters do not see their faith through the eyes of God; He sees us loving and praising Him through the pain, loss and tears. What faith is shown during such times of raging storms! After all, how difficult is it to exalt Him when our waters are calm?

Faith is tried as tribulations arise and it is those very trials which make us choose to trust in our Lord and grow closer to Him or curse Him and walk away. When we choose to stay and have faith in God, it is faith in knowing that He will hear our case and suffer with us, so we can grow closer and more dependent upon Him and not upon ourselves. If He chooses not to heal us in our timing, we will still mourn our losses and will even go through times of being hurt or angry.

Our Lord understands. He allows us to cry and tell Him how much we are torn apart by our lost dreams; He wants us to be forthcoming, admit our difficulties and lean Him. Sometimes, we may even have a tantrum or give God the silent treatment for a while; but, ultimately, we fall on bended knee in reverence, because of our faith.

Yes, it is okay to be saddened by our circumstance and it is okay to reflect on our sorrow; that does not mean our faith is being shaken, but we run to Him for our every comfort, strength to persevere and gift of courage to triumph. It is our faith in God’s purpose, plan and His hand that helps us to get through the storms of this temporary existence. We know that we cannot prevail without God’s hand and we know that He gives us that power.

Yes, sometimes people are ill, because of sin and an illness can be a consequences of their actions. For instance, if someone is cheating on their spouse and trying to act right with God, their misalignment with God’s will is going to cause them stress and unrest, which can lead to ulcers or heart attacks. Also, if a person purposefully ate a high cholesterol diet and ended up with clogged arteries, then their illness is obviously a consequence of their own choices; and, many times people are ill, because of the sin and consequences of this fallen world.

Therefore, just because someone is ill, it does not mean that it is directly related to their own sin. It is essential to address these issues, reflect on one’s life and confess all sin, but once that has been done, others must realize that illness is not always an outward sign of personal, hidden sin and is it not a punishment from God.

Job’s friends wanted him believe that the only reason God would not heal Job was because of his sin. They wanted to believe that God was somehow required to produce miracles at their every whim and if He did not, it was because of something the person was doing wrong. Otherwise, why would Job worship a God who simply refused to heal him, unless it was of his own fault? We are still put into a similar position as Job, when we are told God must be a God that we can tell what to do and when or we must be doing something wrong.

When our fellow believers come to us with advice about God, telling us that we must be in sin or doing something wrong, otherwise God would not be punishing us with illness, we sometimes feel like Job when he told his friends, “My eyes have seen all this; my ears have heard and understood it. What you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you. But I desire to speak to the Almighty and to argue my case with God” (NIV, Job 13:1-3). Job was telling them, I will talk with my God about this situation and if He does not heal me, I will still trust in Him. Job went on to challenge his friends about their own sin and their insistence that he was sick, because of sin, by saying, “Would it turn out well if he examined you?” (NIV, Job 13:9).

Job continued to have faith in God, even though his wife told him to turn from this God who would not heal him. Job knew that God had the power to heal him and he continued to worship the Lord even though he was still afflicted. Job said, “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him;” (NIV, Job 13:15a). Job fully trusted in God, His will and His power to heal him, even though he was still suffering. Job had so much faith in God, despite his circumstances that he knew God was hearing his case and that God was in control. And, that is true faith!

Job clearly showed that we can suffer, be frustrated with our situation and still have faith in God, all at the same time when he added, “I will surely defend my ways to his face” (NIV, Job 13:15b). At the same time that Job had faith in God, he had not given up, as he plead his case to God, because he still wanted to be healed. It is okay to tell God how you are feeling about your situation and to plea your case, but it is not okay to say that God must grant our every wish on our own terms and in our own timing!

So, was Job sick, because he lacked faith? No! Job showed he had an enormous amount of faith, because he continued to serve God, even though he had yet to be healed. A sign of faith is not an outward appearance of financial success or good health! Instead, a sign of faith is someone who praises and worships God in adversity. They are a person who asks for God’s healing and grace, but knows that His will is what is best. “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight” (NIV, Proverbs 3:5&6).

Someone with a lot of faith knows that God is almighty, powerful and able to move mountains. Yet, they also know that they are not God and for them to expect to fully comprehend His omnipotent ways, would be expecting to be equal to Him. God tells us, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (NIV Isaiah 55: 8&9).

So, where do we get our faith? God wants us to be solely dependent upon Him for our every fortification. He wants our every strength, peace and purpose to come from Him. We must read His word, be in His teachings and pray without ceasing. We must come to God with a humble disposition and void of self in order to be lifted by His hand. Further, we must have an awareness of our unworthiness and be willing to admit our weakness without Him.

The Bible says, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (NIV, Matthew 5:5). Does this mean that we should be doormats and pushovers? Should we be frightful wimps who cower in the corner? No! The word, meek in the Biblical context means to have a “disposition before God, namely, humility” (NIV Study Bible, pg 1449) or reverence to God. When we come before God devoid of pride, self-exaltation and boasting, we allow Him to fill us with His power and might.

You see, God is telling us that He wants us to be strong, but He wants all of our strength to come from Him and not ourselves. The world derives its strength from within, only creating a selfish, self-centered race. On the contrary, we must find our strength from God, focusing on Him in order to become selfless, God-centered people. Thus, for us to receive His strength, we must come to Him in humbleness, admitting our weakness.

God does not tell us that when we are weak or sick to “pull up our own bootstraps;” and, contrary to popular belief, “God helps those who help themselves” is not a quote from the Bible! He does not mock us for being weak and in need of help; instead, He tells us to come in our weakness, devoid of our-selves and He never wants us to come to Him with our own wherewithal. In fact, we cannot be filled with God until we are emptied of self (Matthew 5:1-12), because He wants us to come to Him in our weakness and not by our own capability.

Furthermore, God does not want us to hold tightly to our own plans for our lives. Just as a toddler thinks running into the street is fun, so do we think gallivanting in the world is delightful? We as parents, try to prevent our children from darting out into the road, just as God tries to save us from our own dangerous desires.

We must not grip onto what we think is best for our lives, but put our arms around what God wants for us. What we may see as a fortress, blockading us from what we think we need, may be a simple yard to keep us safe. If we are willing to trust God with our lives, that means we must want what He wants for us; sometimes, that means giving up our own desires for His. “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it” (NIV, Matt: 16:25).

Faith allows us to believe with our heads and trust with our hearts. Having faith means relying upon what God thinks is best, not what we think is best. It is not believing that He has to do what we want, but what He wants. If you are telling Him that you know what is better for your life, who are you trusting in? God or yourself?

It takes a stronger faith to believe God knows best, even when we cannot see it, than it does to demand our own way. After all, it is easy to trust in God’s and His plan, when we can see for ourselves how it is working to our advantage and lines up with our own desires; but it takes true faith to trust in God’s plan when we cannot see the benefits with our own understanding and we are not getting our own way.

God wants us to seek Him in our weakness, with a disposition of meekness, so that He can be the sole provider of our fortitude.  Jesus said, “…my power is made perfect in weakness” (NIV, 2 Corinthians 12:9). When we come to Him with no strength of our own, He fills us with His might and our faith is multiplied by His grace. Spurgeon added, “You would never have known God’s strength had you not been supported amid the flood waters” (Spurgeon, Morning & Evening, 1991).

Only then, will we know the true supplier of all our strength is not of ourselves. After all, what better than to be filled with courage, perseverance and confidence from our Lord, rather than from our own self-serving, inadequate, human-ness?

Copyright 2004 – Where Is God Ministries

Seeking God’s Will, Amidst Chronic Illness

Have you ever asked, Why me? Why am I sick? Well, it could be as simple as the fact that our bodies break down and there is disease in this existence. Sometimes it is just the plain act of nature and the consequences of living in a mortal body, in the midst of our environment.

We tend to think getting a disease or disorder is rare, but in fact, it is quite common. Over 125 million Americans (Partnership for Solutions, 2001) or 2 out of every 10 people have some type of chronic condition. The National Institute of Nursing Research found that 40 million are limited in their daily activities (1997); that is 17% of the population or almost 1 in 5. Really, it is not so uncommon as we may think!

Still, we often ask ourselves if it is just the fate of living on this earth with these bodies or ifGod chose for us to have this infirmity. I do know that God does allow suffering in this world for many reasons.

“It is God’s way of arousing us from spiritual lethargy. Your problems are not punishment; they are wake-up calls from a loving God. God is not mad at you; he’s mad about you, and he will do whatever it takes to bring you back into fellowship with him” Rick Warren examines in his book, The Purpose Driven Life.

Our Lord is aware of our suffering and sometimes allows us to go through very difficult things so we can get our priorities straight. Of course, I would rather be acting, singing, dancing, working, riding horses and on and on. But we all have greater purposes on this earth, other than pleasing ourselves and making our selves look good. God has us here to find Him, worship Him, become more like Him, fellowship with others, missions and ministry. Those are our real purposes and we can choose to do those or choose what society thinks is most important.

It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone (Ephesians 1:11).

We often think our lives should be void of suffering. But the Bible says we WILL suffer here on earth. Just the very fact that we are not with God is suffering. Add our human, selfish behaviors and difficulties with relationships, not to mention our fallible, decaying bodies. Warren expounds:

Life is supposed to be difficult! It’s what enables us to grow. Remember, earth is not heaven! Many Christians misinterpret Jesus’ promise of the ‘abundant life’ to mean perfect health, a comfortable lifestyle, constant happiness, full realization of your dreams, and instant relief from problems through faith and prayer. In a word, they expect the Christian life to be easy. They expect heaven on earth. This self-absorbed perspective treats God as a genie who simply exists to serve you in your selfish pursuit of personal fulfillment.

But God is not your servant, and if you fall for the idea that life is supposed to be easy, either you will become severely disillusioned or you will live in denial of reality. Never forget that life is not about you! You exist for God’s purposes, not vice versa. Why would God provide heaven on earth when he’s planned the real thing for you in eternity? God gives us our time on earth to build and strengthen our character for heaven.

As a result, a better question than asking, “Will I suffer?” is to ask, “How should I deal with suffering?” God does not allow us to go through difficulty without being there to offer His hand. Honestly, I am not going to say that physical suffering is easy!! But, I will say that when I focus on it and getting my life back, versus what God may be trying to communicate, I am depressed, frustrated and ANGRY!!! On the other hand, when I focus on His Word, His purpose and His will, I am brought comfort and peace and sometimes even thankfulness!

Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are unseen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

When we gain a “big picture” perspective of God’s plan and this earth not being our ultimate home, we can live with hope. “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). 

Moreover, He will bless us with His peace, despite our circumstances. “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).

He gives us this peace when we seek Him, above ourselves. Focusing on Him and His Word is not always simple – it takes diligence. But, we are like ranting children. If we would just settle down and stop to hear what our parents want us to do, we will be rewarded. “Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Philippians 4:8).

However, at times, that peace does not come quickly and easily. So, we must not give up!! Warren reminds us:

God is always present, even when you are unaware of him, and his presence is too profound to be measured by mere emotion. Yes, he wants you to sense his presence, but he’s more concerned that you trust him than that you feel him. Faith, not feelings, pleases God. The situations that will stretch your faith most will be those times when life falls apart and God is nowhere to be found…. How do you keep your eyes on Jesus when they’re full of tears? You do what Job did:

“Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised’” (Job 1:20-21).

Tell God exactly how you feel. Pour out your heart to God. Unload every emotion that you’re feeling. Job did this when he said, ‘I can’t be quiet! I am angry and bitter. I have to speak!’ God can handle your doubt, anger fear, grief, confusion and questions…. So don’t be troubled by trouble. Circumstances cannot change the character of God. God’s grace is still in full force; he is still for you, even when you don’t feel it. In the absence of confirming circumstances, Job held on to God’s Word.

He said, “I have not departed from the commands of his lips; In have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread” (Job 23:12).

After a period of time and Job persisted in his pursuit of God, He once again heard God’s voice and felt His presence. “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time;” (1 Peter, 5:6). “I will never leave you or forsake you.’ So we can say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.  What can anyone do to me?” (Hebrews 13: 5-6).

Luke says,  “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Luke 11: 9).

We all know that passage, but we tend to skip the “seeking” part. Even though we may “ask,” we often fail to “seek” Him out! However, The Bible says that those who do not seek Him, will not understand Him. Yet, when we seek Him, we are given “eyes to see and ears to hear.”

Warren adds:

Start asking God to give it to you (passion for him), and keep on asking until you have it. Pray this throughout your day; ‘Dear Jesus, more than anything else, I want to get to know you intimately.’ God told the captives in Babylon,

“When you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed” (Jeremiah 29:13).

Despite our temporary circumstances here on this earth, we never have to ask, “What has God done for me?” Warren points out:

Remember what God has already done for you. If God never did anything else for you, he would still deserve your continual praise for the rest of you life because of what Jesus did for you on the cross. God’s Son died for you! This is the greatest reason for worship…. That alone is worthy of your continual thanks and praise. Never again should you wonder what you have to be thankful for.

Given all of this, we must remember that God is God. He gives us an understanding, but we cannot expect to fully understand. It would be like trying to explain the stock market to a dog. A dog would never have the capacity to comprehend it all. Besides, if we knew everything God knew, we would be equal to Him. Obviously, we are not! What’s more, if He told us everything, then we would not be required to have FAITH. Therefore, we must grasp the knowledge He gives us and trust Him for the rest.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging” (Psalm 46:1-3).

Copyright 2004 – Where Is God Ministries

God is our heavenly father, not an indulgent grandfather. God is love, but God is also just, righteous and holy. God is the source of all that is good, not the blameworthy cause of moral evils. God did not do this to the victims of this horrible crime. God is the final cause of all that comes to pass, but not the efficient, blameworthy cause of evil.

There would be no world, no fall, no sin if God had not created the world.  But when created it was all very good. God can no more be blamed for murders than Henry Ford can be blamed for an accident when a person runs a red light with a Ford car.  There would not be Ford cars if it were not for Henry Ford. But the efficient cause of, or blame for that accident must fall on the negligent driver.

A friend of a girl who was shot said she heard the murderer say, “Do you believe in God?”  She said, “I do.”  For that he shot her. From her testimony of faith, this martyr may cause many more Christians to be more faithful to Christ. From her testimony, many others, possibly her classmates, will accept him as Savior and Lord.

Jesus said, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. . . . If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also” (John 15:18-21). Satanism is an outright rebellion against God, his Word, his Son, families, churches, and governments.  It often arises when children want to rebel more and more against their Christian parents. They are encouraged in the movies, television and the relativism in education. Occultism is accepted and promoted. 

Christianity is forbidden in the schools.  For most of the 20th century we have taught relativism, that there is no absolute right or wrong. The teaching of the world is that sometimes it is OK to murder. We should not be so shocked. We are reaping what we have sowed.

May God help us to have a stronger influence in the education of our children. Public schools must uphold the inestimable value of one life and the supreme importance of love. Parents need to display those values as they get to know their children’s teachers. Parents need to find out what our children are reading in the library (which is full of occult books).

We might help supply school and other libraries with Christian books. Parents must value and love their children, and daily let them know of their loving concern for their welfare. We need to have a greater concern for the children who are not popular, not sports heroes, not active in the popular clubs. 

Many youth pastors seem to go after the “successful”, “popular” young people rather than the loners who may need them most urgently. Jesus reached out to the persons who were discriminated against, the poor who were not well dressed, the sickly and even those possessed by demons.

These tragic events remind all of us of the shortness and unpredictability of life.  Pray that at this time many sinners will realize that they are not ready to meet their Maker and trust Christ for salvation.

The gospel is still the dynamite of God unto salvation. The power of the Holy Spirit who raised Christ from the dead and changed Saul to Paul is as great today. Satanists can be saved! But we need to take the gospel to them with courage and love.

Trust the Lord to bring blessings out of this tragedy. The sovereign Lord can overrule evil for good. Never was there a greater miscarriage of justice than at Calvary. Jesus did not deserve to die. But God transformed this worst of all tragedies into a triumph of grace.

Instead of a victory for Satan, the sacrifice of Christ provided the atonement for all our sins. When everything else is crumbling around us, we need to grasp the realities that are unshaken. Jesus remains the same. God, God’s promises are unfailing. Heaven and earth may pass away, Jesus said, but my words will not pass away. Challenges like this test the reality of our Christian faith, our love, our courage.

“The Lord is near the broken hearted” (Psalm.34:18).

“He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted” (Isaiah. 61:2).

“Blessed are those that mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew. 5:4).

“The God of all comfort” comforts us in all our troubles “so that we can comfort others in any trouble” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

Belief in God’s providence, his foreknowing and planning of whatsoever comes to pass leads to praise in prosperity, patience in adversity and peace for the future. The peace that God gives is not best pictured by everything going right on a beautiful spring day. Rather, by the artist’s painting of a terrible storm with lightning flashing, thunder clapping and rain pouring down, but on the swinging limb of a tree is a tiny bird happily chirping away.

Copyright 1999 – Gordon R Lewis, Ph.D. – Used by Permission.

This letter was written in response to questions asked such as, “How can God allow bad things to happen?” and “Where is God when tragedies occur?” These questions were provoked by the Columbine High School shootings on April 20, 1999.

It is during these times of a holy pain that God seems to begin a very personal work in us.  He begins His process of pruning and purifying.  These times of “holy pain” are holy because God has given it to us for His good and perfect purposes.  It is holy because it has as its goal Christlikeness.  It is painful because it strips us of things we have grown accustomed to having.  It is painful because it removes things we have grown to love.  It is painful because the Almighty uses it to tear down those God  substitutes, the idols on our lives we have grown to love and cherish  more than we love and trust Him.

If we look at it from God’s perspective, it is a holy pain because through a very lonely process, He begins to remove all those things that either are or have the potential of competing with Him.  At times God gently inflicts holy pain to get our attention.  At other times God overwhelms us so our idols instantaneously crumble to the ground.  There are times when God seems to “zero in” on those things which are most important to us; those things that we’ve allowed to have places in our heart that are reserved for God alone.  Sometimes God sets His sights on “my precious” as Gollum would say and we forbid God from touching that which is so important to us.  Our defensive response to the possibility of losing “my precious” reveals that it must go.  Sometimes that which is removed is a friend, a role, money, social standing, reputation or a position we have.  If we love it more than God, it may be pruned from us and the holy pain of God sets in.

God does not afflict with holy pain  because we’ve been “bad” or need to be disciplined.  Holy pain may come because He is taking us to new depths of a relationship with Him.  What may seem like punishment is actually blessing.  It causes us to look inwardly into the corners of our being that need His restoration and a deep repentance.  When God afflicts with a holy pain we are forced to to look at ourselves; our sin, our weaknesses, and those things we have clung to instead of God.  It is painful because our over-inflated views of ourselves burst before our eyes and we are forced into the arenas of brokenness and humility.

Excerpt from Chapter 1 – A Holy Pain – Copyright 2003, Chris Miller, D.Min. Used by Permission.

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“Blessed is the Lord who has not left you without a redeemer today…may he also be to you a restorer of life and a sustainer of your old age” (Ruth 4:14, 15).

In the book of Ruth God’s providential hand often gets overlooked. We look in the wrong places. Where it shines brightest is a place from which we’d rather turn our eyes — in the recesses of the pain in Naomi’s heart. With husband and two young sons, she left her home and her homeland when famine came. During their journey to escape famine, Noami lost husband and sons. When she returned to the familiarity of Bethlehem she said, “I went out full, but the Lord brought me back empty.” So, she changed her name from “Naomi” meaning pleasant or sweet to “Mara” meaning bitterness. She returned different but not diminished.

God’s providence “crashed” into Naomi’s life like a semi blowing through a four-way stop. To explain what happened, one writer said, “every possible substitute for God in [Naomi’s] life was removed, every potential barrier was broken down. Through [her personal] catalogue of tragedy God was restoring Naomi to himself.” It may seem to us that such severity of circumstance cannot be consistent with God’s character and what we know of him. But that is because we do not fully appreciate how seriously God loves us and how determined he is that we should have his best even if it means pain (To see how determined God is about us read 1 Chron. 16:31, 33).

The same day I was meditating on Naomi’s story, on the radio I heard a similar surprising story of a couple that experienced a Naomi-like tragedy. As they said, “everything in life was perfect” for them. Then in one instant nothing was “good anymore.” An out-of-control truck broadsided their car. Though both lived, you can imagine the physical damage they suffered and the long road to recovery. Yet, even in the middle of a world turned upside down, they longed to obey 1 Thessalonians 5:18: “in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

Providential care may bring pain into our lives. When that happens it may also reveal our heart. It has mine in far less demanding circumstances. What is revealed is an ugly unwillingness to be thankful in the depth of a painful circumstance. My heart fights back with demandingness in protest, “I deserve better than this!” That’s when the real work of faith begins to fight for obedience. Not by gritting your teeth to eek out a compulsory praise or two but resting in the confidence that God is at work bringing an end to “every possible substitute for God.”

At those times try to remember these four truths:

• At times God’s providences are painful and severe;
• Through these experiences he may touch the lives of others in comforting ways;
• God brings us to a fuller appreciation of his ways with us that we would otherwise lack;
• God fulfills his purposes through us in ways that far exceed our expectations.

Shattered dreams are sometimes the pathways leading to greater good. For Naomi the pathway of shattered dreams lead to becoming the grandmother of Obed who became the father of Jesse who became the father of David, in whose family line Jesus was born the Savior of the world!

Father, forgive us for asking you to remove the pain before we praise you in the pain as our Wise and loving Redeemer! This pain is the result of your working in our lives. Though it feels like death, it’s really all about life. So, we praise you for your steady love toward us even when it’s a severe love; for you will not abandon us to our shame! Whether we am successful or not, fruitful or not these are matters of your purposes in our lives. If there’s enough money in the bank or no bank at all, you are still our God and Father. Do with us what seems good in your sight. Then you’ll get the glory and we’ll get the privilege of seeing you exalted and praised as the Greatest Savior ever displayed!

Copyright 2002 Bob Buchanan, D.Min – Published with Permission