June 2, 2005
-
Due to a boy scout meeting I could not make Tuesday Bible study, so have to wait until my husband downloads the tape onto the computer before I can share the lesson, so in the mean time I will share a bit of a book I have been reading called The Hidden Price of Greatness: Encouragement from the lives of well-known Christians whose suffering produced spiritual growth by Ray Beeson an Ranelda Mack Hunsicker
It has been interesting viewing the lives of such notables as St. Augustine, Samuel Wesley, Francis Schaeffer, Alexander Cruden, Blaise Pascal, Helen Roseveare, etc.
What makes the book good is that they also give the spiritual principles that the people used to begin to remake their lives after difficult situations.
No surprise to those who know me, the life that impacted me the most was Helen Roseveare, who was raped by Congolese soldiers. She was a medical missionary, and ultimately was put into a local prison where she gave comfort to a nun who also was raped.
A few quotes that spoke to me, “Unless we find our sense of security and well-being in the presence of a loving heavenly Father, we will succumb to either panic, rage, or denial.” p. 64
Also on p. 64 “Suffering is not from God, but he doesn’t avoid it either. One of the most healing truths a victim can learn is that God in Christ fully identified with human pain…..take Jesus out of teh stained glass window and put him back where he rightfully belongs in the midst of our agony.”
p. 65 “For all victims, God is either closer or farther away.”
p. 66 “The ‘Why me, God’ can turn into a bitter attack on his faithfulness or more frequently, a merciless campaign of self-accusation. In helping her understand the why of her attack, God brought her thoughts back to Jesus…Every act of evil we endure is really an act of rebellion against the light and love of Christ.”
Oh my rationalizing mind. sigh. The horror this woman faced in the face of doing only good for the people is hard to perceive. Yet she held onto her faith in the midst of that, and her faith helped to pull her through.
Contrast that to myself, who did not know God at the time of my attack, who had no faith, no church, no nothing to lean on, facing the abuse alone, and calling out to a God who I heard about through a few comments on the radio and TV. Harder to build faith in that situation.
Does it sometimes seem to you that God builds obstacles that are incredibly difficult, hoops to jump through that are far beyond what one can attain? His lack of intervening still puzzles me, and it is hard to put down those questions and cling by blind faith to God who seems to have let one down so terribly.
Sorry for these late night ramblings.
Comments (20)
The book sounds interesting. I think life is challenges. We are always being tested & challenged. A lot we don’t understand. We have to try to live a fairly spiritual/ moral life. Even when life seems unfair (somehow there can be a reason to the madness). It’s something I’ve tried to grasp with. I personally believe in reincarnation (that sometimes we may be attoning for past lives, etc. – it is one of only things that made sense to me).
I liked your question. It is something I think about a lot.
People I admire very much. I think I would like that book.
I can relate to what you wrote more than you think. It is a terrible trial to see the righteous suffering and the wicked prospering. Psalm 73 is a comfort……
I can relate to your questions. Not sure what your hardships were but never the less what is important is that you are now in Christ. I was brought up in the Chruch, very conservative Presbyterian, Calvin, Westminister confession etc., and as I entered my adult life just did not have a clue to what Christianity was all about. Sure I had the ‘Book ‘ smarts but that was just intellectual. I went on to try on most every worldview and also to make ‘religion’ fit my lifestyle. I went through many trials throughout my adult life (I figure god knows what trials to place each of us through to give us our own Jonah experience), before finally starting to put the pieces together from all the Bible knowledge, and doctrine I remembered from earlier years. Then I finally got it.
Looking back, I can now see the hand of God guiding my life through those life experience so that I may appreciate just what Jesus did for me. I know now that God was doing two things, one trying to get my attention, two preparing me to take on a ministry for the rest of my life. He did finally get my attention and yes, I have learned to follow His will instead of mine.
Yes we know God will call us to in His own time and at the time of our new life he will guide us towards His intended purpose for our lifes.
As to whether God had left us alone during our times of tribulation, I have to say looking back, that there Is not any way I could have survived this long considering my lifestyle, without the hand of GOd being upon me during that time. I have learned not to question the why god allowed me, (or made me) go through the experiences i have had, but to give Him praise for letting me know His glory after experiencing all.
Our experieces sape and mold us into the people we are today. God has an ultimate purpose for each one of us and uses our experiences to build and strenghthen us in our faith.
I will agree that it is hard to keep the faith as we like to say but as I grow and mature in my faith, I am finding that yes, “we can do all things in Christ.”
In Christ,
Steve
Oops, didn’t mean to write an essay! Lol
Yes, the ‘why’ questions haunt me sometimes…I think that is why I wrote about John the Baptist recently. It has always puzzled me why God let him remain in prison and then die the way that he did. And, we believers sometimes tend to come up with such cliche answers in our defense of God or in our ignorance that cause more pain when someone is already reeling.
Mark Buchanan says this when people are facing pain and we someone gives you a familiar passage as your consolation….”Words, mere words, worthless words, it seems, in the face of such utter catastrophe. A fistful of water flung at a spewing volcano, these. A tin hut built against a typhoon. Even for those of us who have deep convictions about heaven, it can—-some days, some weeks, some years—-seem a terrible and mocking knowledge, more a taunt than consolation.”
But, we must go on, walking by faith, clinging to the knowledge that God is God, and choose to live in the light of eternity. It is a very difficult road to walk sometimes….sometimes it would seem that it is easier to accept life when you’re a non believer because you have no expectations of being rescued, or cured, or protected….
Interesting thought provoking questions….of which I have left no significant answer. Peace in the midst.
I appreciate your honesty and prayers, but I don’t want to be nudged into any religion–whatever the person’s intent and however gently they may do it. I’ve chosen what I’ve chosen for my own reasons, and it makes the most sense to me. I’ve done the “Christian” thing (I was even baptized), and it held no significance, joy, peace, nor anything of the sort for me. I know it does to others (including you, and I am very happy for you), but I also know that people in other religions find the same peace that Christians do in Christianity. I’m a firm agnostic, and will continue to be one. Oh, and you don’t have to worry about me getting into the occult. I’m not interested in any kind of religion.
Honest post. The quotes are wonderful and true. Prayers for you sweetie. lala
Sometimes, as we look back on our life, we have to forgive God for failing us (or as we perceive that He failed us). Lots of people have held God responsible for things that happened to them and as they forgave Him, then they began to see the way things really were.
Praying for you, sweetie!!!!
I think the garbage has nothing to do with God but rather man’s wickedness he has stooped to unfortunately. Man has a free will to do whatever and people often suffer terribly because of it. I know God is there and He could intervene and stop things and I don’t understand why He doesn’t. I guess some day we will have to ask those questions of Him. But you know Him now and experience His love and grace now and that is a wonderful thing. I have wondered at times, why did I hear, understand and believe when so many do not. Maybe none of this applies – just rambling on.
The book looks very interesting HEATHER Praying for you..noticed on the tracker you have been by a few times hope your doing well……….
PRAYING all is well with your soul…………….in JESUS NAME.
GOD BLESS YOU ……………………………….
Yes…Mark Buchanan’s books are excellent—I have read all three and I highly recommend them. They are: ‘Unseen Things’, ‘Your God is Too Safe’ and ‘The Holy Wild’ and that is in the order of my favorites.
Be blessed.
ARP is Associate Reformed Presbyterian, one of the more conservative Presbyterian denominations.
A few years ago we had our church minister come to Rome, Ga to officiate Mary’s mother’s funeral. Mary’s grandmother asked another family member if ARP was a cult or something. Us ARPs are now mainly in the southeast but are slowly spreading around. Our denominatiol websites gives a quick history of us but we go back 200years. (arpsynog.org, under Who we are)
We will keep you in our prayers.
in Christ,
Steve
We can find so much encouragement in our faith as we watch others who have struggled. I think it is natural to wonder when God is silent. I look at the characters in the Bible and see they were in the same boat as us. Joseph suffered greatly. Yet through all that suffering there was not one word from God that it would be O.K. He got a revelation from God in the beginning. That revelation just got him into trouble. He got a revelation concerning other peoples dreams but that didn’t help him much.
Not one time during his ordeal did he have God say, “I’m going to take care of you.” He just accepted it by faith. Same with Job. He asked God, “Why?” God never answered. We can read the story and see how it worked out for Joseph and Job and say it all came together. But the reality of life is that there is not always explanations.
That is why the Bible says, “The just shall live by faith.” That passage is not just about salvation. That passage says something about how we have to live, by faith.
We will see people get away with evil. And we can get discouraged by that evil. God has included that evil into His will. That sounds crazy but it is true. Joseph had brothers who sold him into slavery. That is clearly sin. It is clearly evil. Yet when Joseph was made second in command over all of Egypt, he told his brothers, “What you meant for evil, God meant for good.” God had used their evil for something good.
It was the same thing for His only son Jesus. Jesus was about to die on the cross. He told His Heavenly Father, “If there is another way, I sure would like the other way” (Theologian translation). Clearly for Jesus to die on the cross meant that someone was going to have to crucify Him. Crucifying Jesus was clearly a sin. So God had figured into His will a certain sin factor.
If that was the case with people in the Bible and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, then that will be the case for us too. We will suffer because of other people’s sin. ”The just shall live by faith.”
Sorry for the long post. It was meant to be an encouragement not a discouragement.
your blogring is funny…lol
droppin by to say Hey…..one day hon all of our questions will be answered to all the whys and where were you’s and such…..i look forward to that day…..
RYC: I realize that I will pray for you.
God bless you.
No worries. : )
Oh the incessant questions, they never end….they can drive you insane and consume all your waking hours and get you no where! Even when you get an answer, it is just followed by more questions…. I agree that coming from your past experiences, it could be harder to develop Trust in someone whom you perceive as someone who has let you down. I have come to the conclusion that no matter where I am, good place or bad, there is always someone worse off and someone better off than I, someone who’s experiences were worse than mine or not as bad. I have chosen to stop questioning and spend my time and effort acknowledging the ways and areas that God IS PRESENT in my life. They are there if I am looking. Experience has taught me that in God’s timing, the why becomes apparant in many things. For those that aren’t, it is more productive for me to concentrate on the Bible verses and messages that remind me that God is faithful, that God’s understanding is way beyond mine..that God’s love for me goes way back, that he knows my needs and wishes to give me the desires of my heart, that He will NEVER leave or forsake me. These thoughts soothe me and help me feel that I am not alone in my struggles. And on the really tough days, I just keep telling myself that someday, MY OBEDIENCE WILL BE BLESSED !! Hang in there, right now, you are climbing all uphill…it’s exhausting…but this WILL NOT LAST FOREVER !! One day you will wake up and your Faith will have greatly deepened through your searching and obedience and the questions wont be as important as the Heavenly Father/Daughter relationship you are building. God Will Supply all Your Needs….just ask Him …let Him show you how much He cares for you. < <3 <3
Oh the incessant questions, they never end….they can drive you insane and consume all your waking hours and get you no where! Even when you get an answer, it is just followed by more questions…. I agree that coming from your past experiences, it could be harder to develop Trust in someone whom you perceive as someone who has let you down. I have come to the conclusion that no matter where I am, good place or bad, there is always someone worse off and someone better off than I, someone who’s experiences were worse than mine or not as bad. I have chosen to stop questioning and spend my time and effort acknowledging the ways and areas that God IS PRESENT in my life. They are there if I am looking. Experience has taught me that in God’s timing, the why becomes apparant in many things. For those that aren’t, it is more productive for me to concentrate on the Bible verses and messages that remind me that God is faithful, that God’s understanding is way beyond mine..that God’s love for me goes way back, that he knows my needs and wishes to give me the desires of my heart, that He will NEVER leave or forsake me. These thoughts soothe me and help me feel that I am not alone in my struggles. And on the really tough days, I just keep telling myself that someday, MY OBEDIENCE WILL BE BLESSED !! Hang in there, right now, you are climbing all uphill…it’s exhausting…but this WILL NOT LAST FOREVER !! One day you will wake up and your Faith will have greatly deepened through your searching and obedience and the questions wont be as important as the Heavenly Father/Daughter relationship you are building. God Will Supply all Your Needs….just ask Him …let Him show you how much He cares for you. < <3 <3