Morning Devotional

July 10, 2004

"Bad Things and Good People (Part 6)"

by Don Emmitte

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There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to rebuild. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to search and a time to lose. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak up. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 NLT).

For the last week we have been looking at several principles helping to deal with the question of suffering in the world. Today, we come to some conclusions. I think we go beyond our ability when we attempt to judge the universe as a whole, to proclaim that it is "livable" or "unlivable", "fair" or "unfair". Our role is to accept what happens to us and to do what we can with the possibilities that life offers us, not to judge that we deserved to have something else happen to us, or that we should have different possibilities. Again, the question “why?” cannot be adequately answered. With that said, here are some basic thoughts:

1.      Our best understanding of suffering is reflected in Job. I think that what Job learns from seeing God in the whirlwind is that he has no place to stand from which he can call God to account. He is not God's judge.

2.      Anger is a natural part of the acceptance process. It is something to be gotten past, not something to cling to and justify. Anger is what happens when our denial is exposed. If we have ignored the possibility that our loved ones might die, then when we are forced to confront that possibility and plan for it, we will be angry. Misfortune comes on us at random, but anger is the result of our own error. If we could accept the world as it is, denying nothing, then anger need never arise, whatever might happen to us.

3.      God is not angry. A God who is with me in my anger would have to have been with me in my denial. And what kind of a God is in denial about the nature of his own creation? My God has compassion for me in my suffering, and deeply wishes that I would stop making things worse for myself with my denial. My God is always ready to rain grace and comfort down on me, as soon as I accept the reality of my situation and reach out for the help I need. But as long as I armor myself in denial and anger, grace has no opening, no way to reach me.

4.      "Why did this happen to me?" is the wrong question to focus on, and "What am I going to do with the life I have now?" is a better one. I believe that asking for explanations is another way of putting off acceptance. It is a form of bargaining: "I might accept this situation if somebody could explain to me why it has to be this way." But we have nothing to bargain with. Our acceptance of the world is not something that we give to God. That is the essence of faith.

5.      After we have accepted our situation, then we may decide to look for causes or explanations, so that we can better repair the damage or prevent similar disasters from happening in the future. But this is an inquiry of a different sort. This is a practical search for lessons to be learned, not a metaphysical crisis or a blame-allocation court.

6.      And, last, prayer does work, though often not as some have thought. The practice of prayer and meditation is a great help in learning to grieve well and reach acceptance sooner. From my practice, this is the way that I get in touch with God. This is the means of finding the strength to overcome. There is a time for everything! Trust in God!