My spirit stumbled as I read my friend’s words on Facebook this morning.
“I’m not sure what I believe anymore, as these past few years have been rough.”
She lost her dad to cancer two years ago.
Her mother is battling it now.
Yesterday, one of her closest friends became a widow who will raise a beautiful little girl alone.
Maybe you’ve faced similar heartaches.
Maybe you stand in the middle of a circle of suffering and spend most of your days staring at the misery, wondering, “How could God allow all this? It’s too much.”
You don’t have to be a believer in God to feel the desperation and loss of hope that Job experienced in the Old Testament book.
In great oppression men cry out;
they call for help because of the power of the mighty,
Saying, ‘Where is God, my Maker,
who has given visions in the night…
Though thus they cry out, he answers not…
– Job 35: 9-10, 12
Our souls demand answers. When we’ve reached the ends of ourselves we turn as a last resort toward the idea of heaven. Freedom from pain.
There’s a voice I hear from time to time – a memory that comes back at pivotal moments to buttress me.
I’m standing on a street in Paris during my junior year of college, just staring at my feet, complaining about my aching legs which are sore from miles upon miles of walking. The voice of my professor speaks close to my ear.
“Look up,” she says. “Always look up.”
Begrudgingly, I do. A colorful panorama of ancient, detailed architecture framed by clear blue sky awaits me.
There is so much more to discover than the layers of grime built up on my ugly black shoes and the cracked sidewalk beneath them.
I have come to know that the words, “Look up,” were etched into my mind for an even greater reason than to remind me of how earthly pleasures can distract or numb a tired mind.
But it is idle to say God does not hear or that the Almighty does not take notice.
Even though you say that you see him not,
the case is before him; with trembling
should you wait upon him.
– Job 35: 13-14
God may seem silent. He may not answer in a way that makes sense to our feeble minds. But he is ever-present. The Alpha and the Omega – beginning and end which frame our lives and time itself. Something in us recognizes this infinite power and heeds its call when we are fully honest about our need.
Our hope for our current circumstances is to LOOK UP and continually ask for the things He promises to give: Wisdom. Peace. An ability to recognize that His ways are not ours and that even in our sorrow, He will cover us.
I used to have trouble with this. A LOT of trouble with this.
My family of origin fell apart. I was betrayed by friends. I have struggled throughout my life with the demon of depression.
But I have come to know…
Dear friends and family will come to our aid. We will have the provisions we need to live in body and spirit. God will give freely – using those around us to show us His ancient, present, and forever architecture of Love.
