Faith in Suffering

A friend sent me a sermon that was written by a pastor at a Lutheran church here in Maine. It was delivered last Sunday and the subject was on suffering in general and Haiti in particular. It was very well written and, if I had permission and it wasn’t so long, I would post it here. Maybe someday if I get permission, I’ll make a separate page for it and post it there. In the mean time, there were a few things that she said (Pastor Elaine) that really struck me.

Pastor Elaine mentioned that a “fourth century desert father” said that “we should all put a stone in our mouths whenever we get ready to say something about God.” Why? Because “anything we might say about the subject of God and God’s presence in the world would be a reflection of our limited thinking and diminished imaginations” so it is best not to say anything. God is far above us. It says in the Bible that His thoughts are above our thoughts…His ways above our ways. We, as humans, can’t even begin to understand the full magnitude of God. So our explanations of Him will barely touch on His power and glory. Best not to say anything.

Something else she mentioned is that if we are asked why God allows suffering, such as the earthquake in Haiti, seize the opportunity and explain that God is not a puppet master controlling our lives. God is not a puppeteer. He is not a far distant being in heaven randomly controlling us with no purpose or meaning. God is inside of us. He lives in us.

Jesus was standing in the temple in his hometown. They handed Him the scroll from Isaiah and He read “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” then He said “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing”. Pastor Elaine said in the sermon “As if to say, ‘Look here, the saving presence you have been expecting and anticipating is among you. The power you have been expecting and anticipating is among you. The God who has always set up His tent among you in steadfast love and mercy is now making God’s self known in a way so real and raw and visceral and fleshy and ordinary and unexpected and deep and open and scandalous and close-at-hand that you won’t be able to miss it…’”

Do you see what she is saying? God isn’t a far distant being. He is inside of us. Yes, suffering happens in this world. People suffer and die. It is beyond tragic. But God being inside of us helps us deal with it. He comforts us. He guides us. He is here with us and crying with us and giving us the strength to get through it.

Yes, it is tragic that over 150,000 people died in the earthquake. But they are in heaven. Would you deprive them of that joy, comfort, peace and contentment? Would you deprive them of that feeling of living in pure love? For me, in my heart, that is what I believe heaven is. At least how it will feel. Living in pure love. Would you want those 150,000 people to be back here on earth rather than where they are?

Also, it is tragic that so many are suffering. Struggling to survive. But look at how people are stepping up. The Haitian people are being embraced and cared for in a way that they so desperately needed all these years. Maybe that was the purpose. They needed help. They weren’t getting it. Now they are. I don’t know since I don’t know God’s plan. But I am thankful that they will have their country re-built and they will have a better life than they had before the earthquake.

One final thought, I heard an explanation of why we need to trust God once. A little boy was looking at the underside of his mother’s embroidery. The bottom was full of knots and strings going every which way. It was a complete mess. But then she showed him the top and how beautiful the picture was that she was creating. God’s plans are like that. From our point of view, things are mess. There are knots in life and things going in different directions and from our perspective it doesn’t make sense. But, one day, we will be in heaven and see it all from God’s perspective. And then we will see the beautiful picture He has created. Just wait and see. It will make sense someday. We must have faith.