Why pain?

When we’re faced with pain and sorrow, the question always comes up as to why God doesn’t stop the bad things in his children’s lives.  I thought I’d write a few of my thoughts about that.

  Just what are the bad things in this world and where do they come from? And why doesn’t God just eliminate them – Can’t He do that if He really loves us?

So why doesn’t God just eliminate the problems that come into the lives of His children - those people who want to serve Him and believe in Him and love Him?  I think He could, and sometimes He does intervene and put a shelter around them – but not always and that’s the question – Why?  Why sometimes, some situations and some people? 

What if it is because God sees the entire picture.  He sees the different scenarios, the results of each action, the needs of the people and, in His love for us, He sometimes says, “No, it would not be best to do it your way.”  That’s hard to take since we don’t understand – we can’t see what our Father sees.  We just have to believe that He is almighty, all knowing, and good, and that He loves us.  As the years pass, we begin to be able to trust His heart, even when we can’t see His plans.

We read in the Bible that God is love.  Not just that He loves, but that He is the author of love, the personification of love, He’s filled up with love.  Yes, we know that God is just and mighty and perfect and intelligent, but the Bible stresses so many times God’s love for His creation, so why doesn’t He make our lives smooth and perfect?

I think the answer comes from the fact that He does love us, and, for our own good, He wants us to love Him.  I try to picture a world where there is no love for God.  Think of a world where no one knew of His character, His love, where no one tried to please Him. What would that be like?  I’ve thought a bit about why God desires our love and devotion and I truly believe He wants that, not for Himself, but for ourselves.  Because He knows what our lives would be like if there was no love for God.

So, what does the love God has for us look like? Have you ever thought about love and freedom being a part of the same thing?  That, it seems to me, is the crux of the matter.  It’s impossible, really, to love unless you have the freedom not to love.

God could have made us so we had no choice but to worship Him – but we wouldn’t be us, would we?  We would be a directed machine.  He could have made us so that we didn’t have the freedom to make the choice for ourselves – but that wouldn’t be love. 

God knew that with freedom would come trouble.  But He loved us to enough to make us free.  We’re free to make our own decisions, and I know from personal experience that many of those decisions cause pain, pain for ourselves, pain for others, and I believe, pain for God.

And what about the things that “just happen”?  Hurricanes, earthquakes, drought, floods, etc. cause great pain.   Why doesn’t God control them.

Genesis 3:17-18

And He said to Adam, “Because you listened to your wife’s voice and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘Do not eat from it’,” the ground is cursed because of you.  You will eat from it by means of painful labor all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.

Romans 8:19 -22 tells us;

For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.  We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

God’s beautiful creation is waiting for the day when it will be restored, but in the meantime, it is frustrated and “not what it ought to be.”  So, where did that come from?  From man’s sin, man’s disobedience to God.

Our actions cause pain – pain and sometimes disaster – but God chose to give all of His children the freedom that is part of love.  Because there is no way to separate freedom from love.

Always remember that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son – to suffer pain, to die in our place – because He loves us.

Diane

Choices - Let's Choose Love and Joy

At our age, when we sit down to the table, we have the freedom to choose what and how much we want to eat.  (We don't even have to eat okra.)  

When we wake up in the morning, we can choose what we will wear, whether to wash my face, whether I will smile at the mirror, or not.

We can choose to love other people - or not.

For myself, I choose love!  Why?  Because God chose love. 

Our time here on earth is limited and I don’t know about you, but I personally don’t think I want to waste it by using it to hate, to hurt, or to ignore. 

And we can choose joy

I have a little story for you.

As she trotted near the city park, she saw people walking about, looking down at the sidewalk.  Nobody looked happy.  Actually, nobody looked anywhere but the ground, and their lips looked like they were pulled that way too

It was a sunny day, the sky was blue and the birds were singing.  She had been given that beautiful day, and her heart was full.

She had a choice – hold on to that happiness or look down so that she wouldn’t see the unhappiness of the people she passed.

There was a third choice – give that happiness away.  So, that’s what she decided to do.  She walked up to the nearest sad soul and stood still right in front of him.  She wagged her tail, and gave a friendly little “yip.”  The man ignored her, so she ran around his legs, stood again and wagged her tail.  She was smiling, but she wasn’t sure he recognized the smile beneath her whiskers.  Finally, he looked at her.  She did her little dance around his legs again, stood, wagged, yipped, and smiled.

After a minute it seemed that the weariness lifted from his shoulders and he reached down to pat her head. 

She moved on to the next person on the street and did the same thing – the first man was watching.  She knew she had his attention, so when the second person finally  looked at her, she did her silly dance and circled them both.  They looked at each other and began to laugh and then began to talk, and then to smile.

She had done her job – and she was just a mongrel pup.  Could we possibly do the same thing?  Make people smile and look at each other, just by circling them with love?

I think so.

We can choose.  We can choose whether we fill a room with gloom, or with joy.  We can choose because the love and the joy doesn’t have to come from our circumstances, it comes from the Creator of Love, The Creator of Joy, The Creator of Life - our wonderful Father.

I hope you enjoyed my little story.  We'll speak of other choices in the next few days or weeks.

Love to you all,

Diane

Gentle Footsteps

Gentle footsteps, slowly walking, stopping not upon the way

ere the dawning of the sun

gentle footsteps softly come

to the place where Jesus lay.

Gentle footsteps, walking onward, see the women on their way

toward the garden of the dead

wrapped in cloths now stained blood red.

T’was the place where Jesus lay.

Gentle footsteps, gentle ladies, walking to their master's side.

with the task that lay before them

bearing spices to embalm Him

so they walked and sadly cried.

As they walked along, they wondered who would roll away the stone.

With the dawning of the sun

gentle footsteps softly come

toward the Christ of flesh and bone.

At a distance footsteps halted - what is it our eyes betray?

Is the scene that has arisen

just a shadow or a vision?

Has the stone been rolled away?

Gentle footsteps running onward to the tomb that Joseph gave.

As they stopped and looked within,

sitting where their Lord had been

was an angel in the cave.

His appearance was like lightening and his clothes a snowy hue.

Then he told them “Have no fear.

He is risen!   He's not here,

and in time you'll see it's true.”

Gentle footsteps, still and silent as they heard the angel's plea.

Quickly go and tell the others.

He has risen, tell his brothers.

He'll see them in Galilee.

Gentle footsteps of the women walked away as in a dream.

With the angel’s words replaying

words of hope they would be saying

when they told of what they’d seen.

                                                                                                                  

And they told the others – Jesus has Risen!

He is risen indeed!

He is Risen!

The Lamb was the sacrifice. 

He suffered.  He died.  

He is risen! 

On the throne of the universe sits a Lamb

slain for His love of sinful man;

a Lamb whose blood covered my disgrace

who suffered, who died, who bled in my place.

Pure, without blemish, was that Lamb

unknown in this world of sinful man.

Never has lived a one of man's race

who could suffer, could die, could stand in my place.

All the love of the Godhead is the Lamb

brought to our earth

the Great IAM

to be born, to live,

to die in my place,

for no sin was His, no guilt on his face.

Someday he'll come on a cloud -

The Great Lamb,

to reign,

and to rule,

and to judge sinful man.

We know not the hour

that on clouds made of lace

he'll arrive in the air

‘cross the sky He will race.

We know not when

in all time and all space.

He’ll arrive in a twinkling

and we'll see his dear face.

On the throne of the universe still sits the Lamb.

In The Garden - They Missed so Much

They walked in the garden together.  The day was winding down.  Night was closing in, and they were tired.  But Jesus asked his friends to wait where they were while He went ahead to spend some time talking to his Father.  He didn’t just ask them to wait, but to pray while they were waiting.

He said to them, "Watch and pray this night with me.”

Do you think they wondered why?

And as He walked the path ahead

they settled down,

relaxed a bit,

and slept,

while His heart bled.

"My father" Jesus cried " Please take this cup away. 

I'm so sad because I know the price I’ll have to pay.

But, my Father, God, you know, though I hurt so much inside,

it is only by your will I want to now abide."

After a while He rose and went back to the disciples.

And when He found his friends asleep

the hurt in His voice should have cut them deep.

"Couldn't you watch and pray one hour? Didn't your flesh have a little power?"

"Please watch and pray", again He said, and walked a little way ahead.

Again, He fell before the King.

He grieved – His heart was shattering.

He prayed and sweat with drops like blood.

He prayed to the ever-loving God.

He said, "Not my will be done, but thine."

And His friends slept on in this darkest time.

                                              

They missed so much.  They had no idea what Jesus suffered for them.

We will miss much as well if we don't listen to what Jesus suffered, even in the garden, for us. 

Easter - In these times

We’re living in perilous times – a virus is killing thousands of people on the earth.  Few of us are immune to its poison.  The people of the world are fearful.  They fear the disease.  They fear death.  They fear loss of savings, of income, of going without what they see as necessities.  Many are isolated, alone in this world full of people.

People want to be assured that all will be well.  They want someone to “fix it!”  We turn to family, to friends, to the government.  But the world has no “magic bullet” to kill this plague.  So where do we go?

In times like these we know that life’s uncertain.

Control we thought we had, has left our grasp.

In times like these we find our strength has failed us.

In times like these we look for something that will last

What better time to look upon our Savior 

as anxiousness and fear would take its toll?

What better time to ponder  

all HE did

to end the curse of sin 

and break the chains of death and make us whole?

While on the cross with holy body broken

our Jesus heard the mocking crowd.

He heard the guards laugh out in cold derision.  

Bur From that cross 

He loved

the haughty and the proud.

Jesus planned to suffer, die, and free us from our lost condition.

He planned, 

with love, 

to pay the price of sin. 

He planned a life, eternal, perfect, joined with Him in heaven.

He died that all who come to God are welcomed in.

So, in these times of peril let us look upon our Savior.

Let’s look to Him, the one who can control

the world He made. 

and what we fear. - the pain and loss 

He will control with love -

the perfect love that sent him to the cross. 

He took the fear of death. 

He took uncertainty.

He took our want and loss,

and gave eternity.

Luke 23:33 – 49 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” . . . 

“The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”

The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 3and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” . . . 

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon,  for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.  Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

 The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away.  But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

They saw, but did they really see the meaning of it all?  Did they see the love flowing from that rugged cross?  I pray that in these times we’ll be assured by the picture of God loving us so much that He gave His own life for ours.

Dear friends, 

With all that’s going on in our world these days, particularly with the Virus, we hear that we should maintain our distance from others to prevent its spread. That is good and wise advice to follow for the most part in this situation, but separation hurts.  Some of us - particularly those who live alone, hunger for the touch, the nearness and support of our loved ones.  

Today, I’d like to ask us all to think of that word - separation - in terms of the separation that Christ must have felt when He bore our sins on the cross.  Do you think He felt the loneliness we do when we lose that closeness with the ones we love the most? 

Here’s a poem that may help us to look at what God (The Father and the Son) suffered for us on that day. 

Separation 

“My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” 

The cry was heard from Calvary's tree. 

And as the cry rang out from Calvary's knoll, 

it was heard in heaven  

and broke the heart 

of the one that loved that pain wracked soul. 

When that cry rang out, oh the pain it brought 

to the Father who loved the Son he begot. 

But He could have stopped it. 

He could have released  

His Son from the suffering, 

– the pain could have ceased.  

He could have held that soul in His arms 

protecting Him from this terrible harm. 

It could have been that Christ felt Him there 

easing the burden, the sins he would bear. 

But the answer was "no" –  

release wouldn't pay, the price was still due - 

the price for salvation for me and for you. 

The only price that could save the lost  

was the separation of God on the cross 

from God in His heaven - the Father and Son 

to be torn from each other - a tearing of one. 

That day on the earth, the darkness that reigned, 

came not from the soldiers, came not from the pain. 

It came from God's heart tearing in two 

hurting much more than any could do. 

Loving so much, that it broke His own heart, 

The Son on the cross and the Father apart. 

Separation, 

The price that was due 

as God hung on the cross 

paying ransom for you. 

Diane Gruchow 

Revised Feb 2020