February 5, 2010
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His Pain The Promise
You know those moments of revelation, those defining moments that have a huge impact on you and broaden your picture of God and of life…
My son brought home a book called “God in Pain” by David Asscherick, read it and recommended it to me.
I have been reading it…and it has been speaking to my heart, so I can’t but share the blessing…
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose….What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Rom 8:28-32
The cross is our guarantee that God is on our side.
It is our guarantee that He is for us and not against us.
It is our guarantee that He is trustworthy.
The cross proves that God has not and will not abandon us. Not even in the worst of times. How can we be so sure? Here is our answer: “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani” (Matt 27:46)
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Jesus didn’t just feel forsaken; He was forsaken. And the fact that He was forsaken is the guarantee that you will never be. We may (and often do!) forsake God, but He will never forsake us! Here it is: “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb 13:5)
Jesus: forsaken
You: unforsaken.
The latter is the guarantee of the former.
We may in our darkest, most painful moments feel abandoned. But there is a broad chasm between feeling and fact. We must learn, as Paul apparently did, to bring our feelings, frustration and fright to the cross. And there our feeling of abandonment and neglect begins to dissolve for we look upon one who was abandoned both in feeling and in fact. We may not have every answer to every burning, aching question that haunts us, true, but we have the answer – the answer that gives us unalloyed confidence that every as yet unknown answer would be found satisfactory by us. In other words, at the cross we learn to accept what we don’t know about God and His plans on the basis of what we do know.
If in the providence of God, we are called to endure trials, let us accept the cross and drink the bitter cup, remembering that it is a Father’s hands that holds it to our lips. Let us trust Him in the darkness, as well as in the day. Can we not believe that He will give us everything that is for our good? Even in the night of affliction, how can we refuse to lift heart and voice in grateful praise, when we remember the love to us expressed by the cross of Calvary?
Are you in pain?
God was in pain.
Your guarantee of deliverance from pain was Jesus’ deliverance to pain.
The reality of God in pain, then, paves the way for God to be with you in your pain. Beside you. He knows. He understands. He’s felt what you are feeling. He’s ached like you ache. Bring your pain – all of it – to Him who knows better than you what pain is. Your pain may be great and terrible. Your suffering insufferable. But remember two words:
“All things.”
And remember their guarantor: the God of the cross.”
Comments (5)
This relates to a book I recently read by Elisabeth Elliott -- Be Still My Soul -- she wrote:
"'Sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will fall' (Ruth 3:18)...Our response is what matters. A quiet heart is content with what God gives." p. 55
"The events around us, often mundane, sometimes horrific, can speak to us more clearly than any preacher. From them, we understand bedrock truths such as humility ('I am not the center of the universe'), neediness ('I cannot provide for myself. Other people will let let me down. God will have to provide for me'), and response ('God is in charge and I will trust Him')...The joy and sorrow we experience in the circumstances of our lives speak to us about mysteries of God's sovereignty that are only apprehended by a faith-filled acceptance of every incident." p. 65
"As Jesus' suffering included the full range of human experiences, so does ours. I fall back on a simple definition of suffering: 'having what you don't want, or wanting what you don't have'...that pretty much covers the matter -- everything from the grossest injustices to the quarrel you had this morning." p. 126
that last paragraph really hit home with me. great post...i may have to check that book out
i LOVE guarantees! and this is the BEST kind! Thanks for sharing this
Wow ~ I needed this post today! Thank you so much for sharing! It resonates deeply within my heart and I'm struck by how precious a gift that He gives to know Him more intimately through suffering and to know that He will never abandon or reject us, but rather will "run to the cry of, assist and relieve" all those who are experiencing suffering as Hebrews describes our Perfect high priest. Something that also encourages me alot is that even when I don't know how to pray, that HE does! The Holy Spirit knows exactly how to make intercession before the Father for the needs that I am experiencing ~ truly He IS everything to me! Blessings on you as you follow Him on this journey.
It's so true, that my difficulties become manageable when He brings home to me the reality that everything I experience, He's endured Himself, and that victoriously. I have often found strength and comfort there. Great post.
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