Painful times

I just left the memorial service for a 21 year old son of a bivocational minister.  The young man lost his life in an automobile accident.  Family and friends are struggling with grief, and I would imagine they have a lot more questions right now than answers.  I told the minister I could not even begin to claim to understand the pain they are going through right now.  I cannot imagine anything more painful than to lose a child who is so full of promise.  I've never known that pain.

But that doesn't mean that there has not been pain in my life.  There has been, lots of time, and each pain brings its own questions and even doubts.  None of us should ever believe that because we are God's children or that because we've committed our lives to serving Him that we will be free from pain in our lives.  Family and friends will disappoint us.  Churches will do things that cause us incredible pain at times.  Our motives will be challenged by critics, and at times they will even challenge our Christianity.  This world can be a difficult place sometimes, and each of us will go through our share of painful times.

If you are in such a time as that right now, let me remind you that God has not abandoned you.  Yes, there's been times when I've wondered if God had turned His back on me.  All I could see was the pain; I couldn't see God anywhere around.  It wasn't until I came through the pain that I could see that He had been with me the entire time.  He hasn't abandoned you either.

I also want to encourage you that God is not threatened by your anger.  As a pastor I used to tell people going through difficult times that it is OK to get mad at God.  Tell Him how you feel.  He is not threatened by your anger nor is He surprised by it.  After all, He created you to feel emotions when you are going through difficult times, and anger is one of those emotions.  God will not retaliate when you tell Him you are angry at Him.  From my experience, I would suggest what He will do is to hold you in His arms and love you until that anger subsides.

As I travelled to the memorial service this morning I prayed for this family.  My prayer for them is the same that I often pray for people I know are going through a difficult time.  "Lord, surround them with your presence, and fill them with your peace."  That is my prayer for you today as well.  If you are going through a painful time in your life right now I pray that the peace of God will bring you the same comfort felt by millions in the past.