When we cry "Why, Lord?" we should ask instead, "Why not, Lord? Shall I not follow my Master in suffering as in everything else?"
Does our faith depend on having every prayer answered as we think it should be answered, or does it rest rather on the character of a sovereign Lord? We can't really tell, can we, until we're in real trouble.
I never heard more from the young woman. I neglected to ask her address. But I prayed for her, asking God to enable her to show the world what genuine faith is--the kind of faith that overcomes the world because it trusts and obeys, no matter what the circumstances. The world does not want to be told. The world must be shown. Isn't that part of the answer to the great question of why Christians suffer?
As I plead daily for a solution to my current crisis, I also embrace the fact that I may be called to suffer this ab hinc. Cognitively speaking, I grasp the principle Elisabeth Elliot refers to above, that the question really is, "Why NOT suffer?" Spiritually, emotionally, though, I struggle with that. I struggle to justify the host of verses that state I will be blessed if I follow Christ with the host of verses that state I will be persecuted with suffering if I follow Christ! There are so many issues like that in the Bible. I tire of the academic attempts for deeper understanding that I frequently endeavor to make. I remember thinking, as a child studying the Word, that heaven will bring the answers and it is silly to ask them while here on earth. I think I am going to return to that philosophy, at least for the moment. Lay the questions aside for the simple act of faith. I don't know (does anyone?). I trust instead.
2 comments:
The world does not want to be told. The world must be shown.
That is so so true ...
There's a song called "Hard to Get" by Rich Mullins and I thought of it immediately when I read this post:
You who live in heaven
Hear the prayers of those of us who live on earth,
Who are afraid of being left by those we love
And who get hardened by the hurt.
Do you remember when You lived down here where we all scrape,
To find the faith to ask for daily bread.
Did You forget about us after You had flown away,
Well I memorized every word You said.
Still I'm so scared, I'm holding my breath,
While You're up there just playing hard to get.
You who live in radiance
Hear the prayers of those of us who live in skin.
We have a love that's not as patient as Yours was,
Still we do love now and then.
Did You ever know loneliness,
Did You ever know need,
Do You remember just how long a night can get?
When You were barely holding on,
And Your friends fall asleep
And don't see the blood that's running in Your sweat.
Will those who mourn be left uncomforted,
While You're up there just playing hard to get?
And I know you bore our sorrows,
And I know you feel our pain,
And I know it would not hurt any less,
Even if it could be explained.
And I know that I am only lashing out,
At the One who loves me most.
And after I figured this, somehow All I really need to know
Is if You who live in eternity
Hear the prayers of those of us who live in time.
We can't see what's ahead
And we can not get free of what we've left behind.
I'm reeling from these voices that keep screaming in my ears
All the words of shame and doubt, blame and regret.
I can't see how
You're leading me unless
You've led me here,
Where I'm lost enough to let myself be led.
And so You've been here all along I guess.
It's just Your ways and You are just plain hard to get
I heard this when I was trying to find the why in my grief. I still don't know why, and I may never, this side of heaven. So, I can say that I take it on faith, but I'd be lying if I said that was easy.
I'm a stubborn human being, and I'd love an explanation.
Post a Comment