Perspective

Perspective doesn't mean absence of pain.

                                    Perspective doesn't even mean peace.

Perspective adds some sense to what would otherwise be senseless.

It lends a small tinge of sanity in an otherwise insane experience.

I think we expect too much of perspective.

We put too much faith in its power.

Yet we need it as a barrier against dropping into the abyss of grief, loss, pain, and heartache.

We need to know that there's a bigger plan.  So perspective gives us this.  

But that's all it can give -- knowledge, awareness, recognition.  

Not solace, not comfort, not assuaging of suffering.

The rational mind seeks perspective, while the heart turns away, knowing that what it seeks can't be found there.  

God is Bigger

Just finished the book of Job today.  The takeaways from this study are huge. I've learned a lot, though I've read the book before thanks in part to the For the Love of God blog commentaries I've been following along with as I've been doing the Bible reading.

One -- Job's friends are harshly judged by God; however, they really don't say anything about God that isn't true.  God does punish the wicked and reward the good.  This theme is repeated elsewhere in the Old Testament, even from God Himself (see the Pentateuch).  So why are the friends judged? Where is their error?  It seems to be found in misjudging Job -- in presuming on his motivation, assigning fault to him when there was none. For God Himself vindicated Job as a righteous man, both in the early and latter chapters of the book.  What does this mean for us?  It seems rather shocking to me because judging people, assigning fault to them  is a common practice among people in general, and believers in particular today.  Is  misjudging God's people really so grievous a sin that Job had to offer sacrifice on behalf of his friends in order for them to be acceptable before God (forgiven)?  Apparently so.

Two -- Despite popular opinion that we can rail against God and it's okay -- "God is big enough to handle it" some say -- Job is rebuked by God for accusing Him and for calling for a court-hearing as if God is a peer to be evaluated or judged.

"There is no “outside” place from which to judge him. To pretend otherwise is futile; worse, it is part of our race’s rebellion against God—imagining he owes us something, imagining we are well placed to tell him off." ~ For the Love of God blog

God's rebuke of Job's presumptiousness gives us some of the most majestic descriptions of God and His creative genius.  It's not ok to take God to task, but, even so, the greater sin and God's greatest displeasure is unquestionably reserved for Job's friends who malign Job instead of comforting him, who heap condemnation on him instead of being ok with not having the answers to the why of his suffering.

Three -- God never gives Job a reason for his suffering.  He never reveals the behind-the-scenes chat with Satan. Instead He reveals Himself to Job, and it is enough.  Enough for Job to realize he is out of his depth when it comes to understanding God and His ways.

And so it must be with us.
It must be enough to realize that God is bigger than we will ever know or ever imagine.
It must be enough to simply trust Him, realizing that His ways are beyond our capability to fathom.

An Amish Farmer's Sign and Hope

As I travel a familiar, local route, I pass a simple sign outside a farmer's field that reads, "O Lord, it is nothing with Thee to help."  The straightforward plea strikes me every time, and I find its words replaying in my head during the week  -- "O Lord, it is nothing with Thee to help."

But sometimes it seems He doesn't.

Sometimes the crops are dry and harvest is scanty.

Sometimes the disease wins and the child dies.

Sometimes the much-prayed-for loved one makes the wrong decision anyway and suffers the hard consequences.

Sometimes the broken relationship remains unrestored, and the resulting hurt doesn't fade over time.

What then?  What do we do when the heartache of life seems greater than its joys?  How do we makes sense of the promise of the Lord's help?

Maybe, just maybe His help looks different than our preconceived notions of "help."  Perhaps He helps not by taking away the pain, but by holding us through it -- the way I "help" my child when she is scared of the dark.  I don't make the darkness go away, but instead, I hold her in my arms until she is comforted.  When the noise of the vacuum causes her to run to my arms, I don't always turn it off, but hold her while I finish cleaning. She is calmed, comforted, and "helped" as a result feeling safe and secure in my arms, not necessarily from the cessation of what caused her fear.

So when I look for help, I can find it in God.  He IS my help.

"Find rest, O my soul, in God alone.  My hope comes from Him."  (Ps. 62:5)

when the bottom drops out by Robert Bugh is one of the best books I've read in a long time.  I received this book as a complimentary copy for review from Tyndale House. In his book, Robert succinctly lays out the basic Scriptural truths that held him fast during the year that he lost and his wife and his best friend.  Using their deaths as the canvas for showcasing God's glory, Robert sensitively leads the reader through the pain of grief to the comfort and joy found in a right understanding of Who God is.  His book is theologically accurate, while not overly weighty.  The average Christian reader could read this book and be riveted, strengthened, and taught.  I've read other books on God's sovereignty and human suffering and haven't found one to be as balanced and readable as Bugh's when the bottom drops out.  

The timing of this book in my life couldn't be more fitting. My family is going through a season of loss right now, and the truths of Bugh's book resonate to the core.  I find myself thinking on the principles Bugh shares along with his illustrations which range from Old Testament examples to modern-day Christians who face suffering with grace. I also appreciated the tips Pastor Bugh shares about helping others through their grief.  His insight and experience combine to provide guidance to the hurting as well as to those who walk alongside the grieving.  Complete with a discussion guide at the end, when the bottom drops out is a must-read for all who hurt and all who hurt with those who hurt.




href="http://mediacenter.tyndale.com/TBN"