It was a sad New Year’s Day for our family. I realize that in the grand scheme of things, the loss of our favorite cat after more than 12 years with him is not a major tragedy.
Still, pain is pain, and losing Gizmo is not how I would have chosen to start 2016.
Maybe you can relate. Maybe you have experienced a loss that, by comparison, doesn’t rate the highest in human suffering — but it hurts, nonetheless.
Or maybe you have experienced a bigger loss recently. If so, my heart goes out to you. It’s always difficult to deal with grief, perhaps never more so than around Christmas time.
This last Sunday, I happened to be in Job in my chronological Bible reading, and decided to read the whole thing in one sitting.
Job is filled with cosmic questions, philosophical debate, self-righteous platitudes, and the ultimate surprise — God shows up and leaves everyone speechless.
Job is probably the oldest book in Scripture. Here’s what I love about it:
- God demonstrates that he is proud of Job and that he believes in him.
- God never punishes Job for his questions and his struggles.
- God rebukes Job’s oh-so-theologically-correct friends. (With friends like those, who needs enemies?)
- God isn’t too terribly concerned with explaining himself, leading me to believe there’s a lot that’s beyond my understanding –and that’s okay.
- And my favorite: In the end, Job’s stupendous suffering becomes a moot point.
Try to wrap your arms around this: The man loses everything. His wife tells him to curse God and die (because a bitter, cynical attitude is always super helpful — not).
Job struggles with losses so staggering that most of us won’t experience such horror in our worst nightmares.
On top of that, his body is covered with festering sores.
Yet when God shows up and speaks, Job is stunned into stammering awe. All of his eloquent, poetic anguish dissipates into sheer worship.
“I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know… I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you…” — Job 42:3b, 5
In very small measure, I’ve experienced something like Job must have felt right then.
I’ve had moments in God’s presence when I’ve completely lost track of time. Moments when I’ve sensed his majestic greatness so palpably, I could scarcely breathe. Times when I almost physically felt his hand rest on my head.
That’s why I’m convinced it’s not God’s wise argument that stops Job’s laments.
No, it’s the very presence of God himself that leaves him speechless.
See, when we come face to face with the One who is sovereign Lord of all, the issue is no longer why he doesn’t explain things to us.
When we encounter the Holy One in the midst of our pain, the question, “Why?” dies on our lips.
“Why” no longer matters. The only thing that matters is “Who.”
Please don’t think of this as a cute little saying for your coffee mug or bumper sticker. We’re talking about the living God, the One who creates and sees and knows all.
The One Who is both good and powerful, all the time. The One sees your pain, and uses it for his glory and your good.
The One who understands what you aren’t capable of understanding.
We could ask “why” about a lot of things. Truth is, we don’t really need answers. We need an encounter with the Holy One.
May you be blessed with more God-encounters this year.
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Thank you for this healing reminder that His presence makes ALL the difference! I find myself stuck in the “why” of suffering all too often. I think that IF I can figure out the why, THEN I can avoid future suffering. The title of your post put me in a reflective mode even before I had a chance to read the whole post. I reflected while waiting for my Physical Therapist and I was experiencing a stabbing pain with each breath. While asking myself why this pain, another why story came to mind from John 9 with Jesus and his disciples…““Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.”
John 9:2-3 NLT
So the power of God could be seen in him. It made me wonder, “Lord, even if my suffering IS because of my sin (my pride and stubbornness in lifting things too heavy for me), could YOU make my suffering more about your power and your glory being revealed! Lord help me not be stuck in the why and help me experience your presence and your glory. Help me reflect your glory so others come to know you.”
Wow, Clare, that is powerful. You are so right … we think if we know “why” we can control it. But suffering, mystery and glory all go hand in hand. Praying for you!