I hope you are having a good week! Even as I write that I am aware that our concept of God drastically affects our perception of our situation. When life’s circumstances are hard; when our finances don’t seem to quite be enough; when we and others are hurting we need to acknowledge those facts.
However, we then need to turn our hearts, affections, and thoughts to Jesus and declare what we know to be true. “If God be for me, who can be against me? He who began a good work in us will be faithful to complete it. God works all things together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose.”
That being said, God’s word and our understanding of Him isn’t meant to just be a concept that is applied like a band-aid. It is meant to be a dynamic, living relationship. We are meant to wrestle with God. He is not intimidated by our frustration, our pain, our questions. Run towards Him, not away from Him. Release your frustrations to Him.
We live in a broken world. Therefore, a healthy relationship with God requires us to grow in our ability to manage our wounds. To pretend that you can make it through life without being wounded is a setup for failure. We can do everything right and suffering will still come our way. In fact, sometimes it is the Shepherd Himself who wounds the sheep out of love. He has done that for me!
About 20 years ago the Lord directed us to come off the mission field. At the time I didn’t understand what or why. It was only through the wisdom of my wife and the counsel of leaders that we made the decision. For over three years I felt like there was a hole in my gut, in my inner man.
Then when I was at a men’s retreat one day I was expressing some frustrations to God. And suddenly in a crystal-clear voice I heard the Lord say, “I shot you.” I never have felt so angry at God and so loved at the same time. The picture He gave me was one where I had jumped out of my foxhole to charge the enemy lines and because He hadn’t ordered me to “charge” He shot me from behind and pulled me back in the foxhole. He said, “I wanted you to live to fight another day.” I’m grateful my Father loves me enough to do the hard stuff!
This week ask the Holy Spirit, “How does pain impact the way I see you and relate to you?”
