From the devotional book, EDIFIED! A good one for me!
“For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, ‘In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.’”
Isaiah 30:15
God, I think, is like a Haiku. Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry: 17 syllables in four lines usually involving an unexpected twist at the end. For instance:
Spring has come
The snow melts
The village is flooded
With children.
We expected damage from water and end up with happy kids! So it is with God; except that instead of twisting, He untwists things. For instance, to make a Haiku out of my experience,
Unjustly jailed
Put on trial
Prosecutor stood firm
To defend me!
God is the great Transformer, the great Surpriser. He can and does take the most painful and difficult happenings and tenderly turns them into our good and His glory. Think of the death of Lazarus; of the blindness of men Christ healed; and of His own suffering.
Old age is an example of God’s transformation powers.
I recently visited a 98-year-old friend. He can no longer walk, but is clear-minded. When I asked him how he is doing he replied, “I have so much to be thankful for! I just can’t understand why God is so good to me. I’m such a sinner; I certainly don’t deserve it!”
It is clear that, as he has aged, he has grown in his understanding of his depravity, as well as of how much God has forgiven and loves him, and how much God is blessing him.
Old age may be the process of losing things, but maturity is the willingness to let them go. In knowing what God has in store for us in the new heaven and earth, we can let go of what we cannot keep anyway.
As a second example of how we can trust God to untwist things, take a mother whose 15-year-old daughter had a skiing accident with severe head trauma, ending in a coma. Doctors had to remove much of the girl’s skull and did not hold much hope for any recovery. What was the mother’s response?
“We are so reminded to be at peace and not to look forward in fear . . . but to look forward with full hope. . . . Do not fear what may happen tomorrow, the same everlasting Father who cares for you today will take care of you then and every day….
“God . . . You are the Provider of our lives. We are so empty, so grief filled, so tired, so weary of this complicated confusing unwanted journey that has devastated our lives . . . yet we continue forward in hope, watching You show up every day, every moment, providing what we need to care for Jessie, to take the next step, to get up every morning and face the day, to get up every night and care for Jess, to know that this season will change one day, . . . We wait upon You . . . . Thank you for loving and caring for us . . . amen and amen. . . .”
This woman knows God well; she knows, without seeing any results, that God is at work transforming this tragedy into something for His glory and for the family’s good. And she is certainly cooperating, being His “flashlight of praise” in her dark world. She does not know whether God will make her daughter well by healing her or taking her, but she knows God will do what is best.
So, as we face difficulties, let us look to our living Haiku, the Lord God Almighty, the Creator, Sustainer and Ender of all. He will carry us through as we come to Him in our weakness and needs, submitting to Him. He always has a sequel, and it will be good.
Prayer: “Lord help me to know you better in the light so that when I must walk in the dark, I will trust you fully and give you glory whether I see any answers or not. Help me to live in the truth that you are good, all the time. Amen.”
