During His last evening with His disciples, Jesus encouraged
them with this statement: “In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” While I am not so encouraged by the
tribulation part and the need for courage, the truth that Jesus has gone before
me and has, in fact, overcome the world, is encouragement indeed. But what did Jesus mean by this statement,
and more to the point, what does it mean for us? What constitutes tribulation? What does courage look like? And what does it mean for us in the here and
now that Jesus has overcome the world?
A few months ago, my husband and I were blessed by a
wonderful trip to see our grandson and his parents in the Midwest. It was a spectacular visit, but like all
visits, it came to an end, and it was time to return to New Jersey. As difficult as it was to say good-bye, there
were people, pets, and ministries pulling us home. Upon our arrival at the airport, we were
informed that our flight was delayed an hour.
By the time we got through security, my husband received a text message
that our flight was delayed another hour, even as the overhead monitors
announced that it was canceled. The hour
that followed was filled with confusion and concern as we tried to determine
our flight status and find a way to get home.
After our fight was finally and officially canceled, we were waiting for
an airline representative to re-book a flight for us. A woman who was waiting with us commented in
a rather superior tone that our flight cancelation was, in the long run, not a
big deal and implied that my growing concern was not only unnecessary, it
somehow represented a moral or character flaw.
I did not have time to process her comment and my automatic sense of
guilt until several hours later when we finally boarded a plane bound for New
Jersey.
From one perspective, the woman was precisely correct. In God’s eternal kingdom, a canceled flight
and delayed trip home during our time on earth is completely
insignificant. For that matter, it could
hardly be called a trial. As many of my
Christian friends would remind me, there was still a great deal for which to be
thankful. And it is equally true that as
still others would remind me, it could have been far worse. But I find these responses to my trials in
life—even and perhaps especially the “small” trials—to be deeply
unsatisfying.
The Apostle Paul reminds us numerous times in his letters to
believers pretty much like us to develop and nurture a thankful heart, to
praise God at times in all places. For
some, that means looking for something for which to be thankful in a negative
situation. Others compare their
situation to others who are in a worse position to prompt gratitude or at least
get to a place of peaceful resignation.
But I believe that we are missing something potentially important if we
don’t allow ourselves to feel the pain and frustration of a fallen world.
It may seem inconvenient and distracting to allow—or
force—ourselves to feel the discomfort of an unfortunate situation. It may also be very uncomfortable for to feel
that we aren’t good Christians if we aren’t smiling and praising at all
times. Please consider, though, that our
praise might be deeper and more meaningful if we give ourselves permission to
feel pain. Dr. Larry Crabb, a Christian
psychologist and counselor who has had a major impact on how Christian
counseling is viewed and practiced, stressed in his writing that it is okay to
hurt. I would go a step further and say
that it is good to hurt when our experiences have hurt us. This is precisely the point at which we are
able to deeply connect with our passionate God who likes our fallen world even
less than we do.
David, a man after God’s own heart, records his distress as
he is being hunted by King Saul in many of his psalms. Psalm 13 is a good example: “How long, O
Lord? Will You forget me forever?” David continues his lament, describing his
continual sorrow and the advantage his enemies have. But by the end of this psalm, David turns to
the comfort of who the Lord is: “But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness; My
heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.”
Please notice with me that David doesn’t change his mind about his
circumstances. They are still
desperate. But as he grapples with his
emotions before God, David is able to take comfort in who God is.
The Apostle Paul, one of the most vocal proponents of
praising God, has this to say about his suffering: “And not only this, but we
also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation beings about
perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;
and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out
within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Rom. 5:3-5).
Again, please notice that the comfort and praise comes not from the
tribulation but from who God is. Paul’s
words give us the opportunity to see our trial through the lens of the God of
redemption. Without minimizing or
denying the pain, we can rejoice that our Lord will work through the pain to
work great good on our behalf.
We cannot argue with Jesus’s words to His disciples. Truly, we do have tribulation while we are in
the world. Trials—big and small—are part
of our being inners in a sinful world.
While we cannot avoid trials, we can allow them to draw us near to
God. As we allow ourselves to feel pain
and engage emotionally with God, as we at times wrestle with him as Jacob did,
we become more and more able to see the Lord as He is and to appreciate His
work in us and through us.
In his letter to the Romans, Paul admonishes his readers to
“Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep
with those who weep.” (Rom 12:15).
We have the wonderful privilege of extending our personal emotional
engagement with the Lord as we encourage others in their suffering. Not only can we give ourselves permission to
hurt, we can give others that privilege as well. One of the most destructive influences I see
as I counsel hurting people is the well-meaning advice of friends and family to
simply get over their hurt, to look for the good, to think about those who are
suffering more. All of those strategies
involves a good deal of self effort, and none brings the sufferer emotionally
closer to God. But if we walk with
others in such as way as to bear their emotional burdens, we make it easier for
them to experience a passionately loving and redeeming God.
Moments before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, He wept at
Lazarus’s tomb. May we consider this model
as we walk before our Master—may we weep with those who weep and weep at the
suffering of ourselves and others even as we develop and grow a redemption
mindset. A deepening emotional
engagement with the Lord and with others will make our praise all the more
powerful.