Scripture: Genesis 32:3-8, 22-30; Luke 18:1-8
The hurts in our lives are that real, and they can be very severe; they can leave marks of battle on us for the rest of our days on this earth. We very well may go on living and trying to make the most of what we have to work with, but we may walk with a slight limp as long as we try to walk at all. Faith healers, much more than Jesus and His word, have made us think we can get on after a serious wound without pain from time to time.
Could you have imagined how any good could have come to anyone who lived in the aftermath of San Francisco’s 1906 or 1989 earthquakes? The tragedy realized in both cases was unspeakable! We won’t minimize that or try to rationalize the irreplaceable losses of life and well-being in any sense. Didn’t it strike you as remarkable that survivors didn’t just pick up and get out of there? In contrast to what we might expect, radio reporters focused in on the immediate sense of community and helpfulness put to work by those who lived through both these catastrophes. Rescue efforts, formal and informal, by professionals and persons on the street, began instantly and remained relentless for days and weeks. Talk of rebuilding and learning from structural mistakes began at once. The people were demanding a blessing from the godless destruction.
The question we have to ask ourselves is, can we receive a blessing out of our struggles, out of our crises? Are we willing to ask our Lord for one? Is life worth enough to us that we will not let it be destroyed even by the aggressive assault of tragedy and grief, personal failings and loss of prestige, and lingering threats to well-being and religious doubting? Will we be brave enough in the struggle with these to face them head on, and will we refuse to let them go until even these expressions of evil add something positive to our lives? Here is the utter paradox of Jacob’s story and ours. Its truth only works in God’s economy: God is not the author of evil, but God, and only God, can help us wring something beneficial out of what has sought to destroy us.
One of my favorite verses, one that I choose to live by, is found in Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Notice that Paul wrote, all things. That means everything; good, bad, or indifferent. Do you love God? Are you called, chosen according to His purpose and desire for you? I can’t tell you precisely how God works it, but I can tell you from a life of personal experiences, the Lord accomplishes His perfect will through all we go through; each of us can only know it for ourselves in the heat of the struggle. But coming through it, if you love the Lord and abide in Him, you will find blessing!
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD 
You must be logged in to post a comment.