Life’s hard. God is good. I believe both statements. I don’t hold those convictions lightly.
Tuesday was a hard day. After a morning at a cemetery with friends to say good-bye to a loved one I dashed by my house for a quick lunch before moving on to my office for the afternoon. While setting a plate in the sink I accidentally dropped it. Suddenly I felt so angry I picked up the plate and went through a partial motion where I was going to smash the plate into the sink.
Whoa. What just happened there? As my body and emotions felt super charged for something destructive I simultaneously heard a whisper that I interpret as being the voice of God. He said, “You’re upset about seeing a child buried this morning. Your heart is hurting and your mind is swirling with questions.”
Wow. I took a deep breath and gently laid the plate down. I knew that I was sad but I didn’t realize that I had anger boiling inside.
A few hours later my wife received a phone call with the news that someone we love deeply has been diagnosed with cancer. It was stunning. We decided to take a drive to the park, eat some fast food and walk the dog. I was drowning in sadness.
We got home and the phone rang. A friend had made a mistake and some information he had wrongly conveyed was now posted on someone’s blog and he wanted to share his blunder with me for a couple of laughs. I opened the blog and we laughed for a moment over the phone. Then he asked, “So, how are you doing?” I conveyed that it had been a hard day. He asked what was going on and I gave him the 3 minute version. Then he said, “Now I know why God wanted me to call you. Let me pray for you.” For the next couple of minutes my friend prayed over the phone for God’s presence and grace to wash over me.
Don’t misunderstand. My friend’s prayer wasn’t like a magical wand that instantaneously changed my mood. I was still sad. But I was also comforted by God’s presence and the care of a friend.
Jesus said, “Blessed are they who mourn for they will be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4) God knows this world is and will be hard. He has given us the experience of grief or mourning as means to deal with hardship and loss. And, He has given us His presence to bring the comfort and strength.
God is good. Life is hard.
Tuesday was a hard day. After a morning at a cemetery with friends to say good-bye to a loved one I dashed by my house for a quick lunch before moving on to my office for the afternoon. While setting a plate in the sink I accidentally dropped it. Suddenly I felt so angry I picked up the plate and went through a partial motion where I was going to smash the plate into the sink.
Whoa. What just happened there? As my body and emotions felt super charged for something destructive I simultaneously heard a whisper that I interpret as being the voice of God. He said, “You’re upset about seeing a child buried this morning. Your heart is hurting and your mind is swirling with questions.”
Wow. I took a deep breath and gently laid the plate down. I knew that I was sad but I didn’t realize that I had anger boiling inside.
A few hours later my wife received a phone call with the news that someone we love deeply has been diagnosed with cancer. It was stunning. We decided to take a drive to the park, eat some fast food and walk the dog. I was drowning in sadness.
We got home and the phone rang. A friend had made a mistake and some information he had wrongly conveyed was now posted on someone’s blog and he wanted to share his blunder with me for a couple of laughs. I opened the blog and we laughed for a moment over the phone. Then he asked, “So, how are you doing?” I conveyed that it had been a hard day. He asked what was going on and I gave him the 3 minute version. Then he said, “Now I know why God wanted me to call you. Let me pray for you.” For the next couple of minutes my friend prayed over the phone for God’s presence and grace to wash over me.
Don’t misunderstand. My friend’s prayer wasn’t like a magical wand that instantaneously changed my mood. I was still sad. But I was also comforted by God’s presence and the care of a friend.
Jesus said, “Blessed are they who mourn for they will be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4) God knows this world is and will be hard. He has given us the experience of grief or mourning as means to deal with hardship and loss. And, He has given us His presence to bring the comfort and strength.
God is good. Life is hard.
3 comments:
Thanks for your transparency.
I appreciate your reflection that:
Jesus said, “Blessed are they who mourn for they will be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4) God knows this world is and will be hard. He has given us the experience of grief or mourning as means to deal with hardship and loss. And, He has given us His presence to bring the comfort and strength.
Thanks for this reminder. Life has been very hard lately and I needed to hear this reminder today.
It is just the gift I needed to enhance my perserverance.
I must agree; God is good. Life is hard.
Mike
Great entry! I really appreciate a person of your influence coming out and saying "life is tough." So many times, the message seems to be "if life is hard, you're doing it wrong" when the opposite seems to be true.
I always remember a great statement I heard someone say once: "The devil only fights people he cares to stop. Maybe nothing is going wrong in your life because Satan knows you aren't doing anything worthwhile?"
~Chris D.
Mike:
Thanks for your testimony about both life and God. I know that you're not saying so glibly.
Chris:
You're right, many times life's difficulties are assumed to be related to bad choices. Increasingly I'm finding hard times are a result of right choices for the very reason you mentioned.
Thanks for the comments.
Scott
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