The Glorious Intruder

A man named Paul Tournier once researched 300 leaders from world history.
He was searching for a common thread among them, regardless of the fact that they came from different cultures, different continents and some of them were of different races.
His list included George Washington, Adolf Hitler, Alexander the Great, Golda Meir, Napoleon, and even Fidel Castro. Tournier found the thread he was looking for - they were all orphans; either physically orphaned or emotionally in their lives.

In our day, we are told for the best possible results of a child, that child must be nurtured to the best of our abilities, have a stable home, 'normal' parents and a good education. Yet, here is a list of 300 men and women who literally changed the course of history and impacted the world beyond their lives, some to this very day, all of whom had less than ideal circumstances and some who had horrible circumstances.
How can this be?

The answer is that any situation is not the final word as to the outcome. In this case, being orphaned was not the determining factor because these leaders, early in life, bucked up and worked hard - overcoming their personal, difficult circumstances.
One of the things that I have learned about my situation is that the same is true with one who is in pain and suffers.

Truthfully, the only people who can rightly speak of suffering are those who suffer themselves; each person who does endure suffering, endures it in a way that is as unique as it is mysterious.
We often ask in our time of pain if God is responsible or if He is some cosmic sadist who desires suffering on His creatures.
Because of what we know of God's character, the simple answer is no, He is not the causation nor does He desire His creatures to suffer.
Although many Christians suffer, I am convinced that my suffering was as repulsive to God as it was to me.
Yet, this being true, many Christians will disallow the thought of a transforming value in our personal suffering.

Biblically, Job, Habakkuk and Jeremiah each saw the worst of what the world had to offer and they continued to believe regardless of the fact that at times, it made little sense to them to continue in the faith.
They came to understand what we in the modern era should learn to understand - real faith means believing in advance what will only make sense in reverse.

And if you look at our pain and suffering as Christians in this light, it can rightly be described as a glorious intruder; one who causes pain in our lives, while at the same time teaching us and drawing us nearer to God. Although we rightly see a darkness in suffering, there is also a divine dignity within the one who suffers because of what he endures and what he learns.

Throughout my ministry, I have sat next to countless hospital beds with families enduring the suffering of a loved one. Yet, there have been some things learned only by being in that hospital bed, in pain and pronounced 'terminal.'
From this experience, I am going to share a few truths that I have learned; all influenced by other Christians who have likewise suffered and recorded what God shared with them.

1. Suffering is the great Equalizer in life.
- Christians often say that the only place we are equal is at the foot of the Cross - and there is some truth in this statement. But I would argue the same is true for suffering because pain, disease, inflictions, and even sometimes the issues that cause divorces show no favorites and can strike anyone.
- The one positive to this equalizer is that when a person is in great pain and is suffering, whether it be from cancer or a divorce, you realize the need for true redemption in life.

2. To the Suffering, the Gospel is Good News, not a Threat.
- One of the age old false condemnations of Christianity is that it is negative; what is true is that Christianity is the greatest hope in the world but individual Christians have turned it into a threat. For example, 'Believe in Jesus or you will fry in Hell..!'
That's what I mean by taking the greatest hope and turning it into a threat.

- When one is in pain or suffering, there is no exaggerated sense of self-importance. A person learns in that time the difference between real fears and imagined fears. You begin to be able to distinguish in every area of your life the difference between necessities and luxuries.
And if you are a Christian, as you read the Gospel, you can see the hope written on every page - not for the scholar, but for the one who is in the most difficult time of their life.

- It is for this reason that I am convinced that those who suffer have a blessed advantage (spiritually) over those who have never known real pain in their lives. When a person suffers he is lacking something; those that do not are able to get by comfortably with their natural gifts and are self-sufficient.
A person who suffers MUST be dependent on others. It is in this dependence where we find a greater blessing for we find a greater grace. In other words, the weaker we feel, the harder we lean on Him.

Without suffering there is no dependence; without dependence there is no grace.

3. Those that Suffer Respond to Gospel Call Better.
- I am convinced the reason I was able to function considerable well during my time of suffering was because I realized I had so little left to lose. I was told that I was dying; soon, everything would be taken from me, I would lose control over everything in my life and then I would lose my life itself.

- As a response to that fact, I decided to do all I possibly could to honor God, my family and my church until I could not speak or write any longer. Consequently, it was from this notion from which this blog was born.
I have come to learn that people who suffer respond to the Gospel call for totality because there is so little left for them to lose.

4. It's the Fight, Not the Venue.
- Suffering does not seem to be beneficial in and of itself, it is what a person does with that suffer; it is how a person reacts to it. In my case, I chose to fight until my last breath as many rightly do.
And in this fight, your body is the venue and we do not know in advance how God will take the tragedy we are experiencing and transform it into a triumph.
But if we do not fight, we will never know because we will rob God of a glorious opportunity to use us as His glorious vessel.

- Many who read this blog either are suffering themselves with something medically or they know someone who is - I pray daily God gives me the words to bring encouragement to you as so many were used by God to encourage me. But I digress.
If you are suffering, if you are in pain, regardless of what the cause of it is - don't give up - fight.
Remember, His strength is made perfect in your weakness.

Corrie ten Boom was a Christian, a mere child when she was arrested by the Nazis in Holland. Her crime - sheltering Jews. As a result, she and her family were enemies of the state and sent to a German death camp.
Much has been written on those camps, there is no need to recount the horrors of that time here. It is enough to say she saw evil incarnate as she struggled to live at the foot of the Cross.
In those camps she learned a truth that can strengthen anyone who suffers:
'However deep the pit, God's love is deeper still.'

In my time of suffering, as I believed I was hanging somewhere between life and death; I realized God had been hanging too - He hung on the Cross of Calvary.
Instead of the comfort of Heaven, instead of turning a deaf ear to the poverty, affliction and pain of the earth, He chose in Jesus to come in flesh and die as an innocent victim in my place.

Hebrews teaches us in our difficult times we are to 'fix our eyes' on Jesus...
                      "who for the joy set before Him endured the cross..."
                                                      -Heb 12:2 (NASB95)

What is the 'joy' the author speaks of?
The joy is the redemption of man, which is why Jesus died in the first place.
But if you take it a step further, the 'joy' is the resurrection - where Jesus Christ would defeat death once and for all.
For, if you believe in Him and trust by faith in His work, though you may one day die - you will rise again. And to give you and I, the creation He love, that chance to walk with Him in eternity, Jesus was willing to endure the worst, giving us the best.
I imagine that would be a wonderful source of joy for our Lord and all we have to do is accept it.

Until next time, go win one for the good guys.