The scariest thing ...

Last Sunday night we had the last in a series of sermons on Suffering by Rob Smith, called "Only the suffering God can help". It was really good, talking about the passibility of God (though have discovered that’s a contentious point), the grief of God, and the tears and cross of Jesus, and then the suffering people of God, and reasons why that might be ... and it got me thinking along those lines. Then on Monday I received my DVDs in the mail from the US on "How Should we Then Live?" by Francis Schaeffer (was so chuffed), featuring a bonus interview on living with sickness and suffering. I came home after bible study leader’s meeting and couldn’t resist watching that interview. It was so very good. Edith Schaeffer discusses what daily faithfulness means in the face of suffering and Francis talks about the theological possibilities and issues. Oh to be able to live as that couple did!

Then on Tuesday night in bible study we started studying Job. It was interesting on Sunday night that the cosmic dimension wasn’t included as a reason for suffering – only the discipline of God and persecution for the sake of the Gospel (actually, Job and "unexplained suffering" was covered in a different sermon I temporarily failed to recall). Francis mentions it, saying that Job never knew what was behind his suffering, and we don’t know either. But the fact that Job never knows seems to indicate that an appropriate response to suffering and an appropriate view of God is more the point than finding out the cause of suffering. Francis Schaeffer talks about trusting in the wisdom of God and says at one point "nothing scares me more than that I could ask God for anything right now, and get it – because I don’t know everything". That’s quite an admirable place to be when you are dying of cancer.

I have been reflecting on the state of my own life also lately and the other night I went back to an old journal and found this quote from ‘Finding God’ by Larry Crabb, which is a book I read repeatedly. He says:

Finding God means to face all of life, both good and bad, with a spirit of trust. We have a higher calling than finding joy in good things and working through bad things: we must reflect confidence in God in all our relationships and activities, in all our joys and sorrows ... When we approach God with the attitude of an unworthy beggar whose only hope is another’s kindness ... with his generous heart overflowing he refuses to withhold anything from us that will help us know him better. In his own sovereign way, without consulting us, he patiently arranges things in our lives so we experience him as the satisfier of our souls, as our loving bridegroom, as a good God who never intends anything but our joy.

And so then I bought a little stuffed elephant - which now sits on my computer at work. I saw this little elephant and was inspired by the Dr Seuss book 'Horton Hatches the Egg', in which Horton sits on his egg through storms and snow and catastrophes and the line is "I meant what I said, and I said what I meant, and elephant’s faithful one hundred percent". It’s to remind me to be faithful, not just in the attending of church and being on time for meetings kind of way, but in my perspectives, my attitudes, in that spirit of trust in the goodness of God ...