Tag Archives: Difficulty

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Isaiah 22

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Storm. You looked and looked and looked, but you never looked to him who gave you this city, never once consulted the One who has long had plans for this city. Isaiah 22:11 (MSG)

I have a friend who is currently walking through an incredibly strong and powerful life-storm. His life is completely upside down, and as the storm circles around him the chaotic effects seem to multiply. As I walk beside him, I've been impressed at his response to all of the tragic events swirling around him. His heart aches, but I don't see him reaching for a pill, a drink, or a one night stand to dull the pain. He is not running from the storm. He is resolutely walking through it, and quietly seeking God's strength in each and every moment.

There is nothing like a crisis to reveal the condition of a person's heart. Where we look for strength and what we reach for to comfort our pain says a lot about who we are and where we stand in our relationship with God.

I love my friend, and I know he's going to be more than alright. These momentary circumstances are going to result in new depths of wisdom. That which is dying within him will be transformed to new life. His heart is fixed on God, and God is faithful. He'll be fine.

What saddens me are those who look, and look, and look in all sorts of places for an escape to life's pain, but never once consult the One who has eternal plans, good plans with a bright future, for those who will simply ask for it and have the faith to seek after it.

Creative Commons photo courtesy of Flickr and ilhangendron

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day 1 Kings 16

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Jesus owns a breadmaker. It was under Ahab's rule that Hiel of Bethel refortified Jericho, but at a terrible cost: He ritually sacrificed his firstborn son Abiram at the laying of the foundation, and his youngest son Segub at the setting up of the gates. This is exactly what Joshua son of Nun said would happen. 1 Kings 16:34 (MSG)

"If there is any purpose or value in this whole thing, it's completely lost on me," my wife said to me in the car yesterday. Behind her dark sunglasses, I knew her eyes were filled with tears. I understood. I feel the same confusion. Her statement echoed in my spirit the rest of the day and I've been chewing on it.

The purpose and value of difficult circumstances do not usually show themselves in the moment because they are not momentary in nature. We call them "lessons learned in time" because, for us, time is a required ingredient. We have a wonderful, state-of-the-art breadmaker in our kitchen. As good as it is, it still takes 3-4 hours to bake a loaf of bread. It can't speed up the time necessary for the yeast to perform its chemical reactions and make the dough rise.

God has all sorts of time because, unlike me, he exists outside of time's boundaries. It's likely that Hiel of Bethel and the people gathered at the dedication ceremonies at Jericho had no idea that the terrible sacrifice of his own sons had been spoken of 600 years earlier by Joshua. That's like Cristopher Columbus talking about the recent earthquake in Haiti. It seems an eternity to us, but not to God. He exists concurrently in both moments.

The difficult stretch of the journey I'm experiencing today is frustrating, agonizing, and confusing. I don't get it in the moment. I can only trust that someday I, or my children, or my grandchildren, or my great grandchildren will be on another difficult stretch and I will look back in time to find that the lessons learned through this time will profit me for that time.

Creative Commons photo courtesy of Flickr and solidstate76