The Wildness of God
HEARTBREAK
Why,why,
why does God do such terrible things? He breaks our hearts! I was
standing recently at an open grave hugging a guy and a girl, both
in tears; their marriage had broken up (they have two kids). It
was the guy's brother in the ground, aged about thirty; who'd
hanged himself. The lassie was crying as she would love to get
back
together with her fella but he
is not interested! I can tell you, I came home wrecked!
Then
there was our wee friend who died recently - aged 13. I went and
stood at the spot, a crossing by the local supermarket, where she
was knocked down. Friends had laid flowers by the railing;
classmates had placed a lovely photograph; sister and mother had
left a Bible verse:-
"Can
a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on
the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget
you!" Isaiah 49:15
Previously
our wee pal had been with us on a Youth Camp. Why does God allow
such terrible things to happen?
I don't
know what this past year has been like for you; perhaps someone
dear to you has died; or a loved one taken seriously ill. Perhaps
you have gone through a divorce; lost your job or have been
accused wrongfully. YOU ARE LEFT SHATTERED! Maybe you have
recently become a Christian or have just been baptised and
committed your life to the Lord in a new way; but one thing and
then another has gone wrong for you! Life, even as a Christian
can be very confusing and there are no pat answers; but it is
helpful to be assured that you are not alone in your struggles.
Many of God's people have questioned what God is doing!
GOD is
not SAFE
It is
helpful to realise that GOD is not SAFE! I like the illustration
that C.S. Lewis gives in his book, "The Lion, the Witch and
the Wardrobe," of The Chronicles of Narnia series. Peter,
Susan, Edmund and Lucy pass through the door of the wardrobe to
find the magical kingdom of Narnia, with it's 
talking animals
and trees, under the spell of the White Witch. Aslan, the Lion,
who is the King of Narnia is nowhere to be found. Although it is
rumoured that, "Aslan is on the move," he seems to have
allowed the White Witch to take over and rule his kingdom. She
spends her time pointing her wand at helpless animals and turning
them into statues. The four children set out to explore this
strange and frightening land which is under the spell of evil and
come upon Mr and Mrs Beaver, a couple who are loyal to Aslan. The
Beavers assure the children that Aslan is about to return,
according to prophecy and that the four friends are themselves
part of the same prophecy. They are going to rule with Aslan from
Cair Paravel, Aslan's royal city. On hearing this fearful yet
exciting news, Susan and Lucy begin to wonder what Aslan will be
like. If he is a king who is SAFE, they reason, then all will be
well for the future.
"Is
- is he a man?" asked Lucy.
"Aslan
a man!" said Mr Beaver sternly. "Certainly not. I tell
you he is the king of the wood and son of the great
Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea. Don't you know who is the King of Beasts?
Aslan is a lion - the lion, the great Lion."
"Ooh!"
said Susan, "I'd thought he was a man. Is he - quite safe? I
shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion."
"That
you will, dearie, and no mistake," said Mrs Beaver. "If
there is anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees
knocking, they're either braver than most or else just plain
silly."
"Then
he isn't safe?" said Lucy.
"Safe?"
said Mr Beaver, "don't you know what Mrs Beaver tells you?
Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's
good. He's the King I tell you."
In
Exodus chapter 1, we find the children of Israel in a very sticky
situation - they are slaves in Egypt. Their slave-masters are
working 
them ruthlessly and making their
lives very bitter with hard labour in bricks and mortar and work
in the fields. Then the Egyptians decide to murder their
children:-
"Every
boy that is born you must throw into the Nile.." EXODUS 1:22
The
puzzling thing is, that though God's peoples' sufferings went on
for 400 years and many, many men, women and children died - GOD
ALLOWED IT!
GOD
allows TRAGEDY
We must
be realists and admit that GOD really does allow TRAGEDY to come
into ALL our lives - even to those of us who love Him and follow
Him. To deny this is to deny the TRUTH. Not so long ago we were
praying for a lovely couple, who were expecting twins. Sadly, one
of the babies died not long after their birth. We grieve with the
parents! We have to admit that God allows an awful lot of people
to go through pain and hurt; tragedy and suffering; sickness and
death. It leaves many people asking, "Is GOD GOOD?"
GOD is
GOOD
When we
focus our minds on our problems; or on the state of the world; or
on the sad things that have happened to others; we may have
reason to doubt God's GOODNESS. I have been a Christian for
twenty eight years and I still have doubts, at times, about God's
GOODNESS and His LOVE for me..
But I
have found that the answer is always to LOOK to the CROSS of our
Lord Jesus
Christ. When you're bullied and
bruised; when you're abandoned by friends and alone; when you're
bereaved and broken; when you're in debt with bills piling high;
when you're dismissed and lied about; when you're sick and sore;
when you are frightened and Satan is letting hot fiery arrows
loose on you; LOOK TO THE CROSS.. SEE the SON of MAN bleeding and
dying there for YOU, because HE LOVED YOU.. because HE WANTS YOU
to be with Him for ever!
Let's
all go to the CROSS, right now..
PRAY
THIS PRAYER..
"Dear
Lord Jesus Christ, thank You for all your sufferings on the CROSS
for me. You DIED a horrible death for me. You shed Your precious
BLOOD. How can I doubt You- or Your great LOVE for me? FORGIVE me
for not being GRATEFUL. Give me a THANKFUL heart now, as I look
again to YOU. Amen."
Moses graphic from
"The Prince of Egypt"