"Your desire to live is good. My Spirit will keep that desire alive in every circumstance through every dark night. Your understanding of the road to life is bad. It must die. Your foolish understanding is what is most wrong with you. You assume I relieve struggle and replace it with rest. But I use struggle to uncover a rest beneath the struggle that no anguish can destroy. The struggle with fear and pain will continue. Only in the storm will you know there is an anchor." 66 LLWhile I don't necessarily like these statements, I believe they're true - uncomfortably so. They square with Scripture, with my experiences in life, and with what I've seen in others' lives.
I was with a dear friend last night who is struggling with severe anxiety. The short story is that, as a 37-year-old mom of four, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. After a painful and scary journey that she handled with unbelievable grace, the anti-cancer drugs are now fueling this anxiety, along with some hearing loss.
It seems so unfair, and it made me rather angry. I mean, hasn't she faced enough challenges and still trusted God?? Clearly, I've bought into the lie that God's responsibility is to relieve struggle and replace it with rest.
I keep mulling over the statement, "Only in the storm will you know there is an anchor." That makes so much sense. If life is all mountain-tops and no valleys, how will I discover that God is my comforter, my refuge, my healer? If I'm never in trouble, how will I experience God as my rescuer, my hiding place, my strong tower, my Savior? My fellowship with God would be more shallow and less rich than it has been because of the trials I've faced.
David somehow understood, in a way that I don't, that God blesses us with storms, and as a result, he knew God as his anchor:
Watch this: God's eye is on those who respect him, the ones who are looking for his love. He's ready to come to their rescue in bad times; in lean times he keeps body and soul together. (32:18-19)
Is anyone crying for help? God is listening, ready to rescue you. If your heart is broken, you'll find God right there; if you're kicked in the gut, he'll help you catch your breath. Disciples so often get into trouble; still, God is there every time. (34:17-19)
God pays for each slave's freedom; no one who runs to him loses out. (34:22)
"The single qualification for God's help is that we be in trouble. The reason we're in trouble doesn't matter, whether it's our own fault or someone else's. What matters is that God is right there in the midst of our troubles, stooping to pick up the pieces of our broken hearts and put them back together." Eugene Peterson, Conversations, pg. 809And so I pray for my friend. For healing, for rest, for freedom from her anxious fears (34:4), but most of all, that she would run to God and discover anew how good He is. (34:8) Only in the storm will she know there's an anchor.
And while I'm at it, I'm praying that for me as well, and for each of you out there.
Happy Father's Day, my friends.
1 comment:
So moved by your compassionate prayer for your precious friend. The cancer meds I'm on have caused rapid hearing loss. Scary. I have tucked in my ID badge, that I wear around my neck, one of Larry's quotes from 66LL: "You are not alive in this world in order to experience Me or to enjoy the blessings of a comfortable life. If that were My Purpose, I'd have brought you into My Presence in heaven the moment you were forgiven and adopted...". Praying for all of us not for protection from suffering but for boldness in living out the Gospel. And especially for Staci & her family this Sabbath day that God would make them bold in their mission. Touched today by Psa 32:1 A Fresh Start, A Clean Slate, for every one of us and the Pressure Gone. Grateful to God for finding Love every time we turn around. Psa 32:11 Celebrate God this Father's Day. All you honest hearts, raise the roof.
Post a Comment