Holding God responsible

“Holding God responsible for our pain is as unproductive as it is unwise.”- June Hunt

June Hunt begins Chapter 11 (“Blindsided by a God-sized Boulder: ‘Oh God, How Could You Do This?’ “) of How to Forgive by noting that the vast majority of wounded people don’t allow their bitterness to consume them.  However, many people are deeply embittered.  They harbor sustained anger toward God.  This anger is fed by the belief that God could have or should have shielded them from devastating adversity.

In subtle or overt ways, wounded people are holding God responsible.  As Ms. Hunt notes, to view God as cruel and unjust “drains our lives of hope and leads to deep despair.”  June adds that the main reason we think this way is rooted in misunderstanding the purpose of life.

Our contemporary culture is one of comfort and a sense of entitlement.  We believe happy, healthy, prosperous, and cushy lives are our birthright.  While it is not inherently wrong to live that way, the problem arises when comfort becomes the ultimate goal of our existence.  C. S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity that comfort never was meant to be our purpose:

“Comfort is one thing you cannot get by looking for it.  If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will get neither comfort or truth- only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin with and, in the end, despair.”

Although researchers have discovered that “pain is the gift no one wants, pain is a vial to recovering from our wounds as well as avoiding worse ones.  If pain didn’t really hurt, we’d simply ignore its message and miss its refining effect.  In other words, pain has a higher purpose.

Suffering never is in vain.  It produces endurance, character, hope, and love (Romans 5:35).  Even the smallest step away from resentment is a step toward God’s freedom.

Today’s question: Have you ever found yourself holding God responsible for your vocation loss?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “The faith factor”

Holding God responsible

Three powerful truths

June Hunt concludes Chapter 6 of How to Forgive by discussing three powerful truths Joseph knew that enabled him to entrust himself to God and master his thoughts.

1.  Joseph knew God is sovereign.  Ms. Hunt states Joseph accepted the fact that his life belonged to God.  Therefore, nothing could happen to him apart from God’s will.  June points out that when we truly believe this, there can be no real injustice:

“When we fully accept that God is sovereign, then no matter where we are or what happens to us along the way, we will have an attitude of forgiveness toward those who cause us pain.  We will see them as instruments in God’s hand to achieve His purposes.”

2.  Joseph knew that within God’s will, suffering has a purpose.  Joseph told his brothers that it was God who sent him to Egypt, not them.  If we believe “all things work together for good,.” we will have a forgiving attitude because we won’t see our suffering as pointless.

3.  Joseph knew that God delights in turning evil into good.  Joseph told his brothers that “you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good (Genesis 50:20).”

Ms. Hunt emphasizes that belief undoubtedly sustained Joseph through his many excruciating years of injustice.  In the midst of pain, often you can see only the evil, not the good.  Yet, God is intervening in your life even though you perceive no evidence of His activity.

Today’s question: Which of these three powerful truths have been most difficult for you to accept?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Master of your mind”

Three powerful truths

Blessing hidden in the shadows

“There’s nothing life can throw at us that God can’t use to draw us closer to him.”- Kyle Idleman

In Chapter 2 of The End of Me, Kyle Idleman observes that it’s human nature to do everything one can to stay away from suffering in the first place.  But we take things one step further when suffering inevitably hits.  We do everything possible to stay away from mourning.  And when we do catch ourselves mourning, we embrace avoidance behaviors to do all in our power to make mourning go away.

Pastor Idleman refers to this as a “grim quest to turn that frown upside down.”  However, Kyle explains, that frown won’t go away because gravity keeps tugging at the edges.  Rather than mourn, we shift our efforts to getting over it.  In fact, a man named Jeff Goldblatt founded Get Over It Day (March 9th).

Kyle counters that Jesus wants us to realize we can find incredible blessings hidden in the shadows- but that blessing only may be visible through the lens of our tears.  Through the unique focus of those tears, the intruder begins to look strangely like a guest.

When adversity hits, we can’t see anything bigger than our loss.  The truth is God more than fills that space, including spaces we didn’t know we had.  Kyle concludes:

“. . . those who follow Jesus find that their pain is not wasted.  There is a blessing that seems totally illogical.  It requires climbing to the bottom of the deepest pit, without a flashlight, venturing far into the darkness.  But the blessing is there, and it’s worth everything.”

Today’s question: What Scriptures have helped you find blessing hidden in the shadows?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Spit first.  Dig second.”

Blessing hidden in the shadows

Healing is a process

“For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.”- Psalm 22:24

As Sara Horn concludes Chapter 4 of How Can I Possibly Forgive?, she stresses that when we stay focused  on our scars, those scars can interfere with what God wants us to do.  Rather than letting go, we hold on- and we stop moving on.

When we focus on the One who has all the power, scars lose their control over us.  People and situations fail us, but God never fails us.  Instead of worrying so much about the approval of others, we need to be intentional in our concern about God’s approval.  That begins when we start to realize that Jesus asks for our availability, not our perfection.

Sara observes that all of us are looking for someone who will “get us.”  But we commonly make two mistakes in our search: (1) we look to others to help us heal our hurts, but give up when they can’t or won’t; (2) we believe no one can help us or be there for us, so we don’t even try.  We must remember that no one can “get us” better than God.

Sara concludes that healing is a process, and forgiveness aids in that process.  Healing is a process that takes time.

Today’s question: What Scriptures have been foundational in the process of your healing?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Initiate the healing process”

Healing is a process