Pain and the Majesty of God

I am currently reading a book called The Supremacy of God in Preaching by John Piper. In the first part of this book he gives an account of how he had decided at one point during his career as a pastor to spend several Sundays preaching about the holiness and glory of God from the book of Isaiah. At some point during or after this period a father approached him and told him that it was during this time that he and his wife had discovered that their daughter was being sexually abused by a relative. He proceeded to tell Piper that it was his preaching on the holiness, majesty, and purity of God that kept him going through this difficult time.

When we see people around us full of pain, hurt, and fear it is so easy to get overly caught up in sympathy and forget the fact that God is still on the throne and He is pure, He is majestic, and He is holy. The beautiful thing about this is that He, through the death of His Son has chosen to impart His grace to us, thus giving us an opportunity to get a glimpse of His glory. The only hope for true healing in a person’s life is to partake in the grace that God so freely bestows upon us. The best way to help someone else heal is to introduce them to this grace by allowing God’s love to flow through us to them.

Remember the story of Mary and Martha in the New Testament. Jesus had come to visit and Martha was busily preparing the meal while Mary was at Jesus’ feet basking in His presence. Martha was annoyed because Mary was not helping her, but Jesus rebuked her and, in essence, reminded her that some things are more important than preparing meals and having everything perfectly in order. Sometimes we must simply sit at Jesus feet and drink in the words of life. His words heal, they strengthen, they restore, and they redeem.

One aspect of this story that we sometimes overlook, however, is the fact that Mary was sitting in the very presence of God in human flesh. He had been there when the Creation was spoken into existence, He was there when the Deluge covered the earth, He was there when the Red Sea parted. He walked in the fire with the 3 Hebrew children, He caused the sun to stand still when Joshua needed some extra time, He dropped fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah, He leveled the walls of Jericho. He used a fearful man named Gideon and 300 men to strike terror in the hearts of thousands of Midianites in a great military triumph which should have left no doubt in anyone’s mind that He had been the One Who had won the victory. He fed the starving widow and her son with an unexplainable supply of oil and flour. His presence caused Isaiah the prophet to cry out “Woe is me for I am man of unclean lips”. He is just, He is holy, He is majestic, He is powerful beyond imagination, He is pure, He is good, and Mary was sitting at His feet captivated by His magnificent presence. This, my friend, is where healing begins.

We should never cease to be enthralled by the astonishing reality of the incarnation. The amazing ramifications of God Himself coming down to us are incredible. Other religions are just a plethora of attempts by man to reach God or a god, when in reality He reached out to us.

So maybe we need to stop striving, stop working, stop trying to solve our problems of pain by doing all the things we are told to do and just sit and bask in the presence of our majestic God. Remember, even though He is all these things that I have mentioned in this meager article and much much more, He also loves you and me intensely – and this is simply astonishing!

Disappointed by Hope

There have been several famous books about hope written within the past few years; none of which I have read, but when you take an honest look at the world around us it’s easy to see why this would be. If there is anything the inhabitants of this planet are in need of it is hope, and there are many in this world asking is there really any hope left?


Hope is the last thing to leave when trouble comes. It is the last positive element that an individual may have when their life has come completely unraveled. Even if someone has absolutely nothing going for them, if there is even a glimmer of reason to think that maybe things will one day be better, then they just might find the strength to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Hope clings to the desire that one day justice will be served, wrongs will be righted, poverty will be abated, diseases will be cured, and love will be restored. It longs, no it aches, for that brighter day when dreams come true, suffering is left behind, and joy is restored. When hope is gone it leaves nothing but darkness and pain. One of the starkest realities of hell is that it is a place utterly devoid of hope. So what do you do when you find yourself wondering whether or not you have any reason to go on hoping?

Most of us probably have at least some fond memories of our childhood. Times when we dreamed of what we would do when we grew up. Dreamed of the things we would accomplish and the adventures we would have; dreamed of living in a certain place, and having a perfect job; dreamed about being married to the love of our life and having a bunch of awesome kids. Probably one of the reasons childhood is so enjoyable is that it is so full of hope. Your whole life stretches out in front of you, a vast frontier waiting to be explored and filled with many adventures and good times. Unfortunately for many these dreams never materialize, and if they do they turn out to be not nearly as exhilarating as what was originally thought. We get to the proverbial “gold at the end of the rainbow” and find that along with the gold is real life. We can’t get away from it no matter how hard we try. Troubles continue, the excitement wears off, the dream fades and sometimes even turns into a nightmare, and we are left grasping for something to keep us going, because sometimes there just doesn’t seem to be any reasons left.

One of the psalmists in the Old Testament said “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me?” Have you ever wondered why you are in turmoil? Have you ever wondered why you just can’t seem to get back to joy? Could it possibly be that you have allowed yourself to put your hope in things that will undeniably let you down. You see, no matter how hard we try we can’t possibly find complete joy and satisfaction in the things that are temporal. We were not made for such things. We were made for a relationship with an everlasting God. As the psalmist we must implore ourselves to “…hope thou in God, for yet will I praise Him..”

Oh God we desperately need your grace every day. You are our only hope. We plead with you to help us to let go of all the hopes we have put in earthly dreams, in political systems, in relationships, in financial security, in fame, in anything other than You. Help us to find our joy and strength in You and You alone. Because only you are worthy, and only You have anything to offer that is worth hoping for.