*the reality of suffering*
"Habakkuk
asks bold but honest questions ['Why, O God, do the righteous suffer
and the wicked prosper? Why do you make me look at injustice?' Hab. 1]
Here we find no pious sentimentality, no superspiritual type always
wearing a happy face. Rather we find a man who would be genuinely
perplexed by such lines from religious songs as 'Every day with Jesus is
sweeter than the day before.' For in his perspective some days with the
Lord were uncertain, disturbing and dark.
"I
do not believe I am oversimplifying in saying that God's answer is,
'Trust me with this one, Habakkuk; I know what I am doing.' Of course
that is always God's answer to us. We are called to trust God at each
point in our pilgrimage... But it is at the confusing moments, when
things do not seem right or true or good, that our trust is tested. And
nothing will test our faith like difficulty, especially when we do not
understand the need for the pain -- when it makes no sense to us.
"There is an ancient counsel that we must keep ever before us: God works in mysterious ways -- mysterious to us, that is...
"This
in itself should not surprise us, since God chose to glorify himself
and bring healing to the created order through the death of his Son. The
cross stands forever as a sign that God works through death, difficulty
and suffering. But we are surprised. It seems as though difficulty and
obstacles in our lives consistently take us off guard, leave us
bewildered and certain that something has gone wrong. It may be that
something is wrong. But it could also be that God allows the wrong
because of his greater purposes. Habakkuk came to the sobering
realization that the Assyrians, the terrible and wicked army that came
against God's people, were the hand of God.
"Many
contemporary Christian communities seem to embrace the basic premise
that the purposes of God are simple: to make us comfortable and happy.
While there is no doubt that the ultimate purpose of God is that our joy
would be complete, we often confuse this to mean that God wants us to
be comfortable and at ease. This notion naturally undermines the ability
of Christians to discern the will of a God who works through
difficulty, suffering and even failure. The bias for comfort tends to
blind us to a whole dimension of God's work."
(Listening to God in Times of Choice pp. 139-140)
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