It
is an unpleasant feeling to wake up to the reality of how dark and
dangerous is the world we live in: when the confidence during our
childhood fairyland, under the protection of our elders, seems to
have fled away and give place to doubt and dread. We hear news or see
signs of nearby conflicts in communities, disasters we thought only
existed in the movies, and wonder if we are next. Around every corner
of life we suspect danger lurks, an accident waiting to spring upon
us and our loved ones. And perhaps at the root of our uneasiness is
the fear that the universe is governed by chaos, that God is not in
control, or else that he is a merciless demon who will bring disaster
upon us where it will hurt the most.
But
though it may seem God didn't take these fears into consideration
when he ordained the Scriptures, I think what we read there shows
otherwise.
“Five
times I received at the hands of the Jews forty lashes less one.
Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I
was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent
journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my
own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the
wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and
hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often
without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things,
there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.
Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not
indignant?” (1 Corinthians 11:24-29)
As
often as we equate theology with the magi in the ivory tower, we tend
to forget the trials that the people of God went through.
“Some
were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise
again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and
even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in
two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of
sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—of whom the world
was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in
dens and caves of the earth.” (Hebrews 11:35b-38)
“To
the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and
buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When
reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we
entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world,
the refuse of all things.” (1 Corinthians 4:11-13)
And
yet they persevered. They ran the race to the end, and at the last
received the crown of life.
“Beloved,
do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test
you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice
insofar as you share in Christ's sufferings, that you may also
rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.” (1 Peter 4:12-13)
“Not
that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever
situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I
know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the
secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all
things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:11-13)
We
may not understand yet, and may grow faint thinking about future
troubles we may face, but we can pray for peace, and trust him as
through our struggles we are “transformed into his image from one
degree of glory to another,” (2 Corinthians 3:18), from seedling to
sapling, and from sapling into a strong young tree, able to withstand
the storms of life that threaten to uproot it, and from there into a
mighty oak, unperturbed by the tempestuous winds of trial: a point
when we can, like Job, when he learned he had lost everything, do
nothing but worship God and praise him.
Not
that the winds won't shake us: even Job had his doubts. And Jesus,
when in Gethsemane, underwent much stress and struggled in his mortal
body. “The spirit indeed is willing,” he told his sleepy
disciples, “but the flesh is weak,” (Matthew 26:41). However,
“God
is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability,
but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that
you may be able to endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)
God
will not allow trials to come upon us he will not bring us through,
but will patiently guide us as we walk through the valley of the
shadow of death.
And
he is with us in other ways. It is important to make a distinction
between the trials he ordains for his people, and the calamity to
which he abandons sinful nations. In those cases, we have the
confidence of his unfailing protection.
Psalm
91
He
who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow
of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my
fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
For
he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from deadly
pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings
you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and a buckler. You
will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by
day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the
destruction that wastes at noonday.
A
thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but
it will not come near you. You will only look with your eyes and see
the recompense of the wicked.
Because
you have made the Lord your dwelling place—the Most High, who is my
refuge—no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near
your tent.
For
he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your
ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot
against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young
lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.
“Because
he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him,
because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I
will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With
long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”
And
so whenever the fear comes upon us, let us say with confident
assurance: “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose
word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.” (Psalm
56:3-4)
