Scripture
I hear the tumult of the raging seas as Your waves and surging tides sweep over me.
~Psalm 42:7, NLT
Quote
On occasions, you will encounter circumstance that will trouble you to the very core of your soul.
~Chriswell Freeman
I am sure that David was not a surfer but he did know how it felt to be wiped out. I noticed something in Psalm 42 that I had missed previously: the waves that wiped David out were from God. This brings us back to the age old question: why does God allow us to suffer and why is He the cause of some of our suffering. Obviously Jesus could have kept Lazarus from dying but He didn’t and the sisters endured four long miserable days grieving. Was Jesus being cruel? Does He enjoy seeing us suffer? Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, said in his lamentation, Though He brings grief, He also shows compassion because of the greatness of His unfailing love. For He does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow. In truth Jesus wanted to reveal more of Himself to Mary and Martha. They learned more about Jesus in those four days than in the months previous. Sorrow is a great teacher and we do not forget her lessons.
The problem is; we are prone to doubt and get discouraged during difficult times. In times of sorrow and hardship, we find ourselves questioning God and His plan for our lives. Sometimes we get discouraged like David who confessed as much Psalm 42, Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? David felt overwhelmed by negative circumstances; he felt wiped out by the gigantic waves of sorrow and disappointment. Charles Cowman said, “The grandest character is grown in hardship.” God has a purpose for the waves. Charles Stanley {p.314, JESUS OUR PERFECT HOPE} gives us a list of things that God is doing during the difficult times and I have added a couple myself.
- God is tempering your faith; putting it to the test and making it stronger.
- God is purifying your motives
- God is crushing your idols
- God is removing those things from your life that you have put too much confidence in
- God is breaking sinful strongholds
- God is developing your character
- God is preparing you for ministry
Your ministry will come out of your pain. I have a sweet niece who lives in Athens, six years ago she and her husband Paul suffered a parents worse nightmare; their lovely 16 year old daughter was killed in a freak accident. This child was special. Her love for little children was off the charts. At every reunion, she was waiting on Chloe to arrive or any of the other little ones. She loved little children and was a fantastic baby sitter. Out of this tragedy, her mom has become a minister to families who lose a child. She can comfort other families with a grace that is simply amazing.
I’m not ready to say that I am proud of my failure but I will admit, God has used it to teach me invaluable lessons. It reminds me of a poem I heard when I was a child.
I walked a mile with pleasure, she chatted all the way,
But I was none the wiser for what she had to say.
I walked a mile with sorrow and never a word spoke she,
But Oh the things that I did learn with sorrow walked with me.
EXTRA
A little nostalgia; when I was a teenager, there was a popular song called “Wipe Out.” It really has nothing to do with the devotion above and I don’t think it has any spiritual significance. When they played it at the skating rink, everyone took a controlled fall when the song came to the WIPE OUT. There aren’t many of my readers who can go that far back. I tried to insert it but it will not insert.