Where Is God When It Hurts

Philip Yancey, one of my favorite authors writes in his book, “The Bible Jesus Read,”  “Because I began my career as a magazine journalist telling other people’s stories, early in my twenties I ran smack into the problem of suffering.  While tracking down various article leads, I would find myself by the bed of someone blindsided by tragedy. A teenager mauled by a grizzly bear as he tried to rescue his girlfriend, a father who died while sheltering his children with his body during a blizzard on Mount Rainier, a man who lived out a life of crime in angry rebellion against the abuse he had suffered in chilhood-I wrote these and other stories for the Reader’s Digest “Drama in Real Life” series.”

Here is what I want to highlight in this article. Yancey continues to write, “Every single person I interviewed told  me that the tragedy they had undergone pushed them to the wall with God. Sadly, each person also gave a devastating indictment of the church: Christians, they said, made matters worse. One by one, Christians visited their hospital rooms with pet theories: God is punishing you; No, not God, it’s Satan! No, It’s God, who hand-picked you to give him glory; It’s neither God nor Satan, you just happened to get in the way of an angry mother bear.” He goes on to write, ” As one survivor told me,”The theories about pain confused me, and none of them helped. Mainly, I wanted assurance and comfort from God and from God’s people. In almost every case the Christians brought more pain and little comfort’ ”

Jobs friends were also well meaning when they gave Job all their wonderful, spiritual insights. Seemingly there was not much wrong with what they said except none of it was the heart of God for Job and they missed the mark, totally!  When God finally speaks through all the VRG (verbal religious garbage) He says this to Job as recorded in the book of Job 38:2, “Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?” Later in Chapter 42:7 God says this to all the well meaning christian counselors and prophets who had gathered around Job, ” Eliphaz, I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right!”  He goes on to say in the same verse, “My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly.” The word, “folly” in Websters 1828 Dictionary is; “Weakness in intellect, imbecility of mind, want of understanding, depravity of mind.” “Imbecility” is impotance, devoid of any real power, powerless.”

The last 3 close friends of mine that died were told they must have had some secret sin in their lives. Help! I think I will listen to the one who is suffering to hear what God is saying as I listened to my young friend Isaac Lehr who brought peace to me as he lay dying of cancer in his mid 30’s, the prime of his life. He spoke these words:

“You are so beautiful to me Jesus.” “Thank you for having your way with me.” “Let me do this well.” “Jesus, you were a hero on the cross,” “I’ve always had a barbaric, savage side to my personality, I am hard core, your death was violent yet you did not complain or shrink back.” “My pain does not compare with your suffering.” “Thank You, Thank You, You are so beautiful”……………….. Even though he was my student when I was a teacher in his school, he became my teacher in the end.