When Words Fail

"I ran in to a couple that lost their baby. The husband was broken. We cried together and then prayed and talked. I was a mess."

These few messy sentences summarize so much pain and emotion. I didn't have any words of wisdom for this couple that lost their child. Words failed me. I had tears, prayers and eventually some encouragements. I don't think an immediate response of anything other than that would have even been appropriate. 

Many people are just like this couple. Tragedy has hit and there are no words to comfort or settle them. We see it every day. Pain and trials are the norm. 

Recently in our nation we have seen loss and tragedy on many levels. In our social and political structures we are divided. Racially we are heading down the wrong path. In the natural realm disaster has struck and devastated lives. With our national relationships abroad the word 'tense' seems to understate the current norm. 

People are looking for answers. All these things impact people personally. Even without the things that have happened in our nation we see people living amidst personal trials. While the Christian life is not easy I can't imagine doing life any other way. How do people make it without God? 

The only hope we have in the midst of tragedy is that God is good. Some scoff and some don't believe in the goodness of God. I can't see any other option. Without it I am without hope. God's goodness is the only thing that assures me that the suffering and pain we endure in this life will be worth it all in the end. 

God is near to the brokenhearted and collects our tears as His treasures. That in itself is mind blowing. But when you think of a God who cries with us, Who listens to our prayers and Who speaks words of comfort and wisdom to us there can be no other conclusion than that God is good. He loves us and love never fails. His words are eternal and when words fail us His word stands strong. 

If you're experiencing pain or tragedy know that God is with you in your pain. He loves you and hasn't left. Your emotions are normal and it's okay to experience anger, confusion, sadness and to have questions. But when you settle in to the reality that God is good it will help you to go through the trial and the pain. 

One Year After a Terrorist Attack

"Looking back over today I never would have thought it would turn out as it did. The head of our safety ministry came in to our pastors meeting to tell us that there was an active shooter down the street and that we were locking down the facility. Soon after we started working again our administrator came and asked if we could bring the people from the site to our church while they were interviewed by the police. I immediately thought of the school but then knew that in a time like this we needed to be a light and extend care to our hurting community. We watched some of the news reports and then started preparing for the arrival of the people. We had snacks, sodas, water and coffee available for them. Some counsellors showed up and set up in the youth auditorium. Police and probation officers arrived first. One of the detectives who attends our church showed up with a shirt soaked in blood. I remembered I had two shirts in my office that were samples from Man Day that I went and grabbed. I gave him one and his partner the other one. They were both very grateful. When the people arrived they separated them by who saw something and who was just there. The people had tears in their eyes. They were very grateful we were open for them. When the bus pulled in and parked at the church one person yelled “Thank God we're safe!” One of our members who worked at the IRC said she has never been prouder of her church than today. Some of our other members were there and greeted me as they walked in the building. Many of the officers and peer support personnel were from our church as well. The cafe was packed. They were getting most of their names and pictures and busing them to another site to be picked up. We had a second bus load of people come bringing the total from 200 to probably 400 not counting the hundreds of volunteers, chaplains, police, detectives, and counsellors. They started to ask about if we were going to have a church service. I had told Pastor Luke we would have a prayer service tonight. They were concerned about opening the campus. We decided to move forward and believe God for safety. A guy went to Costco to buy a pallet of water for the people and when Costco asked him what he was doing and found out they dumped chickens and bagels, croissants and bread in his truck to bring. It was great to see pastors from other churches and the community uniting for this. When the sun had set I walked across to get ready for the prayer service. It was God orchestrated. There were 16 salvation's and who knows how many online. We prayed and preached the gospel. That was all. People from all over the world were texting and hitting us up on social media."

One year later after these events I woke up and came to church to pick up Pastor Luke and our Administrative team and we all headed to the IRC for a memorial gathering where they honored the organizations who opened their doors for the people being evacuated. There were somber moments and words of hope given. They presented a plaque to The Rock Church for our involvement and had Dr. Fred Adams, our administrator at the time of the event, say a few words. 

What I think left the greatest impact was the scripture he read from Matthew 11:28 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

There are many people whose lives will never be the same after December 2, 2015. Fourteen individuals are now gone from our lives. Their families and friends left in the wake of terror. I am sure many questions and sorrows still linger. Only in Jesus will we find rest for our souls. He alone has the answers. He alone can calm our fears and give us peace amidst the storms of life. He was acquainted with sorrows and if you listen to some of the statements He made regarding current events of His day you will find that there was plenty of tragedy and many questions. 

It was the mission of Jesus to point us to and show us the Father. That is exactly what He did when He went to the cross. Not only in that one instance but also throughout His entire life He showed us the Father through his life, His words, the miracles He performed, His emotions and His actions. 

Now He calls us to the same life. He wants us to show others the love of Jesus through our lives. We can share the words of life. We can act in a way that displays the goodness of God. Whether it is through a prayer, a shoulder to cry on, buying a pallet of water at Costco or giving someone a fresh shirt it all displays the love of Jesus.

We will not forget those who lost their lives. We will work towards love and unity in our nation. Over and above all, we as Christians, will show the love of Jesus to a lost and dying world. 

Day 153 - An Unprofitable Servant

"Inspired from Charles Spurgeon's Morning and Evening Devotional for the day: They laid Jesus penniless in a borrowed grave. He had nothing in death. Friends had to purchase cloth to wrap him and lay him in their grave. How then can we pride ourselves against Him when He would stoop so low for us. Father forgive me for my presumptuous sins. I presume that I am too high and so great in faith that I forget what You gave for me. How rich I am at the expense of Christ! And yet would I hold on to anything?! Here Lord take all for your service. It is my reasonable service and all I have you gave me therefore I am an unprofitable servant. Let me only attend to your needs, wants, desires and pleasures."

Just this morning I was thinking along these lines and echoed King David's prayer: Who am I? And who is my family that You are so kind to us? 

God is so gracious and good that words fail to express how great He is. His goodness requires no less than my all in return, yet even my all is not sufficient for His kindness. 

What emotions come when you think about what God has done for you? How can we express our gratitude to Him? 

Day 20 - Arguments

Reading back through my journal entry from last year on this day I remember it was a great day. We went with some friends on a boat in the ocean and spotted two whales, a pod of dolphins and passed a bunch of sleeping seals on a buoy.

What struck me from this day was not the good that we had but a little line that said my wife and I had a disagreement that morning about our future plans. I find that most couples fight about three things; finances, the future, and intimacy (which often means two different things to men and women). This was our day to fight about the future.

As big as any argument can get all it takes to make it small is to look at God. He is bigger than any problem and bigger than any need. After being on the ocean that day the proof of what I just wrote is confirmed by the last sentence of my journal entry:

"Earlier today we had some intense fellowship over the future and what we both had in our hearts. After being on the water and seeing the beauty of God's creation it made it seem so insignificant."

Have you ever had a problem that seemed huge but turned out to be small? How does your view of God effect your view of life?