Flame in Motion

“. . . Human Suffering and Joy to the World.” The question is this: Where is this joy and peace when I have had so much loss and pain? We may get a mindset that God is not for us. He never has been. We have had to struggle and suffer all of our lives. It may seem that God is not for us in our times of loss and pain. We may ask how we can remain in His love when we cannot feel His love. The problem with this kind of thinking is it keeps us isolated from God and stuck in our suffering. We may say that people do not care. They just think of themselves and take whatever they can. Others may be busy with their own lives or even following what God has for them. If we open our hearts to the ways people do care, we will find that they are there for us more than we realize. We may decide that we have to be out for ourselves and take whatever we can in order to get by in life. Sometimes we feel we are all alone, but I urge and encourage you to take a step of faith and talk to God about how you feel and what you need.

We sometimes think that God is not for us, that He is above us, allowing our suffering and not being there for us, but He came to us in the form of a little baby whose name is Jesus (Luke 2:1-7). Did you ever consider the birth of Jesus into a world that He did not have to enter except out of God’s love for us? There was no room at the inn. The Savior of the world met us in a stable manger. Joseph and Mary traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem to fulfill a census mandate when Mary was ready to have the baby. They traveled dry and dusty “roads” by donkey. They were not married yet by the way, and Joseph was not the baby’s biological father, so that created all kinds of gossip and stereotypes, especially in that time and culture. When Jesus was only eight days old, they had to travel again by donkey. They went to the temple in Jerusalem because it was mandatory that every firstborn child be circumcised, named, and presented to the temple. Joseph, Mary, and Jesus happened upon an elderly man who recognized that the Savior had been born and blessed them and left this thought for the young girl, the new mother of a firstborn child, to ponder: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed and a sword will pierce your own soul, too” (Luke 2:34-5 LAB). Just as Jesus, who was born in a manger, met us where we were at in our hearts, God has met you where you are and has always been there for you.

See John 10:10. Sin has opened the door for destruction. We can stay stuck in the consequences of sin or focus on Jesus, who came that we could have abundant life. In John 11, Martha and Mary thought Jesus had abandoned them, that their friend did not care to come and help their brother, Lazarus. They felt the pain of death, loss, hopelessness, and they felt like God did not care, like the one who could help them did not bother to show up until it was too late. We can think people do not care because they do not meet our expectations, but God’s ways are higher than our ways. We can choose to keep our focus on Him no matter what because He is a good God who cares for us. Even Jesus wept because of their pain and suffering. In Exodus 3:7-8 LAB, God says, “I have indeed seen . . . I have heard . . . I have come.” God does not abandon us. He does not simply leave us to our own means. Do we want to do everything out of human means, turning our backs on God and His ways, or can we turn our eyes and hearts to Him, do what we can do, and believe that He is coming for us just like He came for the Israelites and just like He came to save us from our sins and reconcile us to the Father? Read John 3:16. Do we have to be isolated from God and others? God loves us! God loves you! He sent His only Son just for you!

Jesus came so that we could have life more abundantly through keeping our eyes on Him and intimately embracing His joy and peace within us. Just like us, Jesus came into a world of sin, pain, and suffering. Jesus, as we open our hearts to Him, is found at the center of all our pain and suffering. Jesus came into this world to save us because God loves us. God loves you! Jesus overcame the world, and through Him, we can overcome. Jesus is our joy and our peace in the midst of human suffering. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who is willing to leave His flock and go after the one lost sheep. Is it you that Jesus is reaching out to? If so, I humbly offer a few suggestions for responding to Him: