Let’s Be Honest Here
I’m going to be honest here. There are some weeks when my heart
breaks, I hurt for people and part of that hurt is because I can’t do or say anything to take away their pain. It’s frustrating because I know the Bible pretty well and I know God pretty well
(because of all the time I’ve spent studying the Bible). But there are times when knowing all I do still doesn’t help.
This past week was one of those times. Mike Quinones called and told
me what was going on with Alyssa and I wanted to say something, share something that would make their struggles go away.
Then I got the call about my uncle Tommy and heard that he was going
through the same thing my dad went through; bleeding in his brain that would lead to his death. I knew what my aunt and cousins were going through and I wanted to say something, share something that
would take away their pain.
Then I went to see Ryan Struble in the emergency room. I haven’t
seen someone in that much pain for a long time. I wanted to say something, share something that would give him some comfort.
Then my daughter, Chelsey, called and told us their dog has cancer
and only has 4-6 weeks to live. I wanted to say something, share something that would take away the hurt.
But in all these cases, I didn’t have anything. I could pray with
them, pray for them, but I don’t have all the answers.
It’s times like these that take me back to the book of Habakkuk.
Habakkuk begins by asking God some pretty strong questions. “How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen?”
Habakkuk was seeing things that were hurting people and yet God
seemed not to be noticing. I feel that way sometimes. But in those times I can find strength in two other statements Habakkuk makes.
In 2:1 he says, “I will stand at my watch and station myself on the
ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer he will give to my complaint.” In 3:19 he says, “The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he
enables me to go on the heights.”
I may not know what to do, may not understand what God is doing, but
I trust in him completely. And even though I may not get full satisfaction in this immediately, I do find comfort in knowing that it’s all in His hands and He knows what He’s doing.
Just being honest.
Lance
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