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struggles, trials, sadness, loss, hurt, pain, worry,stress, shock,
This list is endless. It is the list that reflects the struggles and pain we all face in this life.
True Christan theology and thinking has a very good, clear understanding of suffering and pain in this life.
I think that modern Christians have lost their understanding of it and yet God never loses us, does he. In his grace he has been and is raising up clear thinkers and good writers and speakers on the truth about suffering.
Over the years God has been drawing and shaping this truth in my thinking and heart too.
This week I was blessed to read a blog post from Desiring God as well as listen to a Tim Keller sermon on suffering and trials.
Here are some of the gems I gleaned to add to the picture God is painting in my mind and heart.
We look at this world and love pleasure. The good times and happy moments are what we long for and live for. We have a deep desire for joy which we spend a lifetime looking for. It is a longing in our hearts. We search for it is all sorts of places and in all sorts of ways. Sometimes we might even find it; hold it; only for a moment before it slips away.
When bad things happen or trials come our way we seem to be shocked, as if someone has intruded into the nice picture we have of life here on earth.
Even as Christians, we are surprised when bad things come along.
Sometimes the bad thing is a shocking bad thing but that is not what I mean here. It is almost as if we are expecting life to flow beautifully without. The perfectly, happy, in control life with everything running smoothly and everyone happy.
This is our hope and what we work for.
But, what if we have the picture all wrong. What if we are to look at this life, square in the face, and see, truly observe, that in fact it is a life full of trial, suffering, sadness, loss and brokenness.
I pause here for a moment because that is not the picture we like or want.
But, if we look really carefully and with eyes that can see. We know that this picture is true.
Broken dreams and hopes; broken relationships and shattered lives surround us and may even be ours to hold. If we look around us at the world we see hatred and war. Selfishness rules the day.
Why?
Why is the world so broken, so full of hurting people.
The answer is rebellion and sin. We have all turned our backs on our creator and lover of our souls and have set our hearts, minds and course on our very own ways.
This is sin.
Sin rules us.
It is our master.
It is a cruel and faithless master and it breaks and robs us of joy.
It sets people against one another and blinds us from ourselves. It breaks the one, deep and special relationship we all long for.
That of friendship, communion and belonging to a father that loves us more than we can ever, ever imagine.
So, what if this true picture is the real picture.
What then of joy and happiness.
Perhaps we should see the joy ; the great times; those precious moments and deeply beautiful moments of deep happiness as notes or letters; post its -from God.
He is giving us, in his grace, moments of joy to spur us on, to enjoy, to lift our eyes to him, to remind us that, if we are his, if we are in Christ, then this is not our home. His future home for us will far, far, far surpass any of the deepest, purest, most beautiful times we have here on earth.
Are we to live as defeated people. No, on the contrary, we can live as people set free to live lives for him. Knowing that trials and sufferings are the order of the day, here on earth. enjoying and treasuring the deep joys and happy times as gifts from God. as reminders of the joy to come which will far out weigh and absolutely blow our minds.
Confident that he walks through the trials with us, carrying us when we are week, blowing faith into us as we trust in him and spurring us on till the end.
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