So that…

As He passed along, He noticed a man blind from his birth. His disciples asked Him, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?  Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.    John 9:1-3 AMPC / NASB

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 1 Corinthians 1:3-4 NIV

While Jesus took time to actually notice the man born blind, and now begging for a living, His disciples landed on another approach.  Observing the overwhelming trial the man endured, they wanted to know why he was born blind in the first place. “What did he or his family do to deserve this?”, they asked, with an implied assumption. Not exactly empathy in action. Jesus explained, “This happened so that the works of God might be displayed in Him.” I’ll be the first to admit, being born blind in that culture isn’t something I would have volunteered for.  And yet, this man was given the honor of being used so that … his life and eventual healing might be used to display God’s glory.

Later, the Apostle Paul tells us that God comforted him, so that he might be able to comfort others with the same comfort he had received. God allowed painful trials into Paul’s life, so that his need would drive him to the God of all comfort. So that … he could authentically comfort others.

Hospital bracelet

Now, let’s get real world. I have a few “so that” scenarios in my own life (I bet you do too). My first-born daughter, Tiffany Anne, died at three days old… Gut-punch excruciating. As I look back at that tragedy, it was through her death that I gave my life to Christ.

So that I might surrender to the Saviour… and glorify God.

Foot prints

Fourteen years later, I gave birth to a still-born son. Yet another horrific ache that words cannot adequately express. I can’t as easily see the “why” of his death, but through such profound loss, God has graced me with authentic empathy and compassion for others who suffer and long to know “why.”

So that I might share the comfort I received… and glorify God.

Heart surgery aftermath

Just over a year ago I suffered a health emergency that nearly took my life, and that included months of rehabilitation. Out of that trial came more empathy and a devotional book (Stony Paths, learning to trust Him on the stony paths of real life) with a message of encouragement for those who walk through their own stony paths

So that I might offer authentic hope… and glorify God.

And of course, the ultimate, so that, is Jesus Christ giving His life as a ransom for us. Living a sinless life, suffering, dying and rising from the dead … so that you and I might have a way to the Father.

Let’s bring it back home. What “so that” situations have been allowed into your life? Think it through. Hold them up to the light. Is there a tragedy or a difficulty that God has graced you with so that….? Allow Him to use your life, and all you’ve endured, as a display of His glory.

We must understand that for God to give “songs in the night,” He must first make it night.

C. H. Spurgeon

Father, Oh how I long to bring glory to Your great name!  I hand You all that has touched my life, use it as an illustration of Your goodness, faithfulness and a display of Your glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus

Rock of Ages, Cleft for me

I called on Your name, O Lord, Out of the lowest pit. You have heard my voice…

O Lord, You have seen my oppression.

Great is Thy faithfulness.

Who is among you who [reverently] fears the Lord, who obeys the voice of His Servant, yet who walks in darkness and deep trouble and has no shining splendor [in his heart]? Let him rely on, trust in, and be confident in the name of the Lord, and let him lean upon and be supported by his God.

Lamentations 3 selected verses NASB   Isaiah 50:10 AMP

Jeremiah, the prophet, begins this section of Scripture by “crying out from the lowest pit” and ends by boldly declaring, “Great is Your faithfulness.” He said this, when as yet, his circumstances remained lowest-pitish. If we step back further into this book of lamenting, we see that he came near to the brink of hopelessness – often. So how did Jeremiah go from despair, to declaring God’s faithfulness? Did he watch a master-class on living an overcoming life?  No, this real-life man, known as the weeping prophet had a relationship with the One True God and had learned to lean into that relationship, to trust the Lord God, in spite of all that was wrong and difficult and heavy in his life. His circumstances did not dictate his faith or view of God.

Let’s be real.  Sometimes circumstances don’t change. Sometimes our “lowest pit” remains. The truth is, there will be seasons of no “shining splendor” in our hearts, but instead, darkness and deep trouble. Even for those who “reverently fear the Lord and obey His voice.” Our “lowest pits” may be canyon-deep crises that threaten to send us over an emotional cliff, like an unfaithful spouse or a rebellious teenager, an unexpected illness or the death of someone we love. A pit may be the day-to-day challenges of life that come like a steady and sustained drip of difficulty, wrapped in the form of a dead-end job, disappointment with life or struggling to make ends meet. If you’re breathing, I know you have a lowest-pit of your own that’s coming to mind.

It’s one thing to trust God for a particular outcome, but another thing all together, when we learn to trust Him no matter the outcome. Period.

To simply trust Him.

You will never learn faith in comfortable surroundings.  

01/04 Streams in the Desert

The Lord has literally kneaded these truths into my heart, maybe He’s done the same for you. Through the death of two of my children. Through the, not-enough-money–for-the-month life as a teenage mom, to heart wrenching betrayal. And even the ache of regret from my own past mistakes.  I have found that though the difficulties were seldom removed, when I leaned into God, He provided the ability to stand. To walk through. And I came out with this truth on my lips – Great is His faithfulness. Lean hard into that truth dear one, He will not fail you.

Father, I.  Trust. You. it’s so much easier to say the words than to walk it out, Lord. Help me trust You in spite of the pain, and in the midst of all that appears wrong… with disappointments, with crises that overwhelm or monotony or the fear of what if… I choose to lean hard into You, Father. You are worthy of my trust. In Jesus’ name, Amen

 Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus

Click here to purchase a hard copy or download a *FREE pdf of the devotional, Stony Paths learning to trust Him as we walk the Stony Paths of real life. *(Along with other free products).

You may also purchase Stony Paths, learning to Trust Him as we walk the Stony Paths of real life, by visiting Lulu Publishing or Amazon.

Burdens

Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, The God who is our salvation. Selah.

Men ought always to pray and not lose heart.

Psalm 68:19 NASB 1977     Luke 18:1  

Burden. The mere word implies a heaviness or painful ache. Are you carrying a burden? Have you? Something so heavy that its mental or emotional weight nearly buckles your knees? I’ve been there. The truth is, all of us have been there, or are there, or are going there. Life is full of burden-creating situations.

Recently, as I began talking with the Lord about a specific “burden” in my life, memories of years of praying about the issue flooded my heart. I told the Lord, “Here I am again, Father, I feel silly coming to You every day about the same thing.” The thought was quickly swept away when He dropped this Scripture into my heart. He daily bears our burdens. Each day. Every day.

Whatever burden we’re carrying, He will bear the weight of it for us. Daily. Because, truth is, every day there’s either a new burden, or the same old one that still needs a miracle. It’s honoring to Him that regardless of how many “days” it takes, we come to Him in humble prayer. No matter how many yesterdays, or tomorrows – today, He bears our burdens for us.

Let me encourage you today, keep praying, don’t lose heart. Daily, hand Him your burdens. Sure, go ahead and explain all the gory details to Him if you like. Pour out your heart. Even if you’ve done it one thousand two hundred and seventy- seven times already (but who’s counting?). Today is a new day, and He’s ready to bear your burden this day.

“When God puts a burden upon you, He puts His own arm underneath.”

  L.B. Cowman

Father, I am so thankful for Your great patience as I bring the same issues before Your throne, almost daily. You reminded me that it honors You as I keep coming, keep trusting and keep serving You in the waiting. Thank You! I love You so. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus

Real Questions

Gideon said to Him, “O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.” 

Judges 6:13 NKJV

If you’re not familiar with the Old Testament story of the life of Gideon, or it’s been a while, grab your sweet tea, relax and prepare for real-life, real-world questions. When you have 10 minutes read all of Gideon’s story in Judges 6 and 7.  It’s astounding.

We first meet Gideon in the middle of his work day, as he’s “beating wheat in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites.” Needless to say, a winepress is not where one usually threshes wheat! He’s had to alter his normal way of life and normal way of earning a living to accommodate the presence of his enemies. He’s also had to face the overwhelming fear that’s gripped him in the process. And then, smack in the middle of his routine and difficulty, the Angel of the Lord shows up and speaks to him. Reminding him that the Lord is with him.

His first response to the heavenly interruption is stunningly authentic and real-world. Gideon asks the questions each of us have wrestled with at some point in life.  Questions that so permeated his thoughts that as an angel stood in his very presence, rather than fall to the ground in shock, he blurted out loud what was loudest in his thinking.  “Why?”

“If the Lord really is with us…with me… why then has all this difficulty happened to us? Where are all His miracles I have heard about?”  Can you hear the accusation or possibly anger dripping from his line of questioning? Can you hear the disappointment mingled with despair in his tone as he wrongly assumes that his current trials mean God has abandoned him? Or his assumption that lack of trials is a sign of God’s presence.

“If God is with us then why?… Why our child’s death? Why divorce? Why a challenging childhood, why a still-born child? Why abuse or neglect or unemployment or a wayward child… or no child? Why a broken relationship or a painful, lonely relationship …I could go on…

I don’t know why, I wish I did. I wish I could hand you the answer to the “why” of your circumstance – I can’t. But what I can assure you of is this – according to God’s word, trials do not indicate the abandonment of God. In fact, they might just indicate His nearness in away we cannot imagine. The Psalmist reminds us, “He is near the brokenhearted.” We are assured of His presence with us, whether or not He miraculously delivers from our trials or walks us through them – either way, He is with us.  He is with you. He will not forsake you. Share your heart and questions with the Sovereign One… and then rest in Him.

Now grab your glass of sweet tea and open your Bible to Judges 6, see what He will speak to your heart dear one.

Trials do not indicate the abandonment of God. In fact, they might just indicate His nearness in away we cannot imagine.

Becky White

Father, I am so thankful for Your abiding presence, Your great faithfulness and Your peace. As I walk through the inevitable challenges of life, enable me to be more aware of Your Presence and find my rest in You…not in anything else. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus.

Hiding Behind the Baggage

Jesus said to him (a blind man), “What do you want me to do for you?” Mark 10:51a ESV

One man there (at the pool of Bethesda) had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him lying there and realized that he had spent a long time in this condition, He asked him, “Do you want to get well?” “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am on my way, someone else goes in before me.” John 5:5-7 ESV

So they asked the LORD, “Where is he?” And the LORD replied, “He is hiding among the baggage.” 1 Samuel 10:22 NLT

Have you ever been so comfortable that you just didn’t want to move? Though the ankle-deep lawn or the pile of unwashed laundry was calling your name, you just couldn’t bring yourself to budge. Too comfortable.  On the flip side, sometimes our desire not to budge, isn’t created by something good like a comfy chair, but from something known, even if painful or bad. “I may not like this, it may be hurtful, but at least I know what to expect. I feel safe here,” is the mantra of comfort-zone thinking.

I have been there. Wasting decades hiding behind the baggage of my past, with its built-in excuses – past hurts, past mistakes, past trials. It wasn’t good, but it’s what I knew. It felt “comfortable.”  Maybe you’ve been there too.

In today’s passages we read of folks, just like you and me, hiding behind the baggage of their lives in the prison cell of comfort-zone thinking and living. To pull the cover off their hiding place, the Lord probes with some seemingly strange questions. Asking a man born blind, “What do you want Me to do for you?” or a man who has been paralyzed for 38 long years, “Do you want to be made well?” It’s here where I am tempted to think the Lord isn’t being very perceptive, but of course, that is never the case. He knows that a life-time of learning to live and think a certain way, of relating to the world around them as “less-than,” would need to be tackled. Jesus knew that even when it’s a bad situation, familiarity can be strangely “comfortable.” When confronted with the seemingly silly question, rather than jump at the chance for healing, the paralytic offered explanations as to why he couldn’t be healed. Perhaps he just couldn’t live with another disappointment or perhaps he had taken healing off his list of life’s possibilities. Whatever the reason, Jesus put His divine finger on the heart of the issue.

Pain and trials are almost constant companions, but never enemies. They drive me into His sovereign arms.

Kay Arthur

Would you stop a moment and think honestly and deeply? Are there areas of your life that need healing or that you know are baggage you’ve learned to hide behind?  While I have no idea what baggage life may have handed you or what “lessons” you may need to unlearn, He does. And He asks the same question, “Do you want to be healed?” If you’re like me, you’ll have to resist the urge to “explain” rather than simply answer Him. “Yes, Lord! I’m ready, heal me.”

Oh Father, Yes, I want healed! Please enable me to live baggage free, no hiding, no excuses. Healed and whole by Your grace and by the power of Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ matchless name, Amen.

Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus.

Click here to purchase a hard copy or get a FREE pdf of the devotional, Stony Paths

You may also purchase Stony Paths, learning to Trust Him as we walk the Stony Paths of real life, by visiting Lulu Publishing or Amazon.

Poke the Pain

“Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.”  Hosea 6:1 ESV

For He wounds, but He also binds; He strikes, but His hands also heal. Job 5:18 BSB

For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. James 1:3 NLT

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result. The saving of many lives.  Genesis 50:20 NASB

Seated at a rectangular plastic table adorned with a sugar jar and plenty of creamer, I begin probing.  “So …  tell me, what’s your story?” This purposefully penetrating and open-ended question is one I usually ask in the course of urban ministry. Many of the folks seated across from me, have no home, no bed, no anything.  And often, feel without hope. As other volunteers serve breakfast with all the “fixins”, along with a bottomless cup of hot coffee, I listen intently. My goal is to gently poke until I find the pain. Some share decades-old hurt or regret. Others, eye me suspiciously for possible motives, as they lift their fork for another bite of a dripping-with-syrup waffle. It’s then that I begin sharing a few of my own pain stories as well. I have come to understand that no matter the socioeconomic background, regardless of ethnicity or educational level, pain is our commonality. Some more than others, that’s true, but always, something.

Why do I ask this? Because I know that pain can either be used as a weapon in the hands of the enemy, or a tool in the hands of our Almighty, and sovereign God. As the Old Testament account of Joseph puts it, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” The words didn’t ignore his years-long pain of unjust imprisonment or suffering, but it did put it in perspective. Yea, You meant to jack-up my life.  But hold on. God meant for that pain to bring about something good in my life. And very often, the enemy has used their pain to convince them of God’s “neglect” or even lack of existence.

Pain can either be used as a weapon in the hands of the enemy, or a tool in the sovereign hands of Almighty God.

Becky White

How about you? What’s your story? Is your pain point one of deep regret or childhood trauma? Is it dashed expectations that linger in your heart or widowhood or illness or a prison cell? Is your pain caused by watching the ache of someone you love? Pain is always a pivot point. Do we allow it to drive us to our knees and to greater dependence on the Lord, or allow the hurt to push us away? Away, in anger or depression or bitter unforgiveness?

As I share with the folks at The Bridge Ministry or The Columbus Dream Center, I freely admit that I don’t have answers to all the questions of “why.” But this I know, If God willingly gave the life of His Son for us, surely we can trust Him with what we do not understand. Trust Him with our pain.

The question we all must answer is, will we let our pain draw us to Him or repel us from Him?

In whose hands is your pain?

Father God, Yes, there are times when my heart is pained and raw from the realities of life. But I choose to trust You with all that comes my way. For my good and Your glory. In Jesus’ precious name, amen.

Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus  

Release the Weight

Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you; He will never allow the [consistently] righteous to be moved (made to slip, fall, or fail).

Casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.

Psalm 55:22 AMPC and 1 Peter 5:7 NASB 1977

I am so sorry for your pain. Your loss. Your dashed hopes. Your sense of hopelessness. Or anxious thoughts that torment you. Take a deep breath. Get level set. If you’re able, grab a cup of coffee and sit down a moment. Now, open your Bible or Bible app to Psalm 55:22 AMPC. Trace your finger across the words. These are the very words of God to you dear one. Read them out loud.

He acknowledges, that yes, you do have a burden. It hurts. It’s heavy. It’s not your imagination. Feel the pain of that raw reality. Feel the questions bubbling up in your spirit. Feel the ache. Then cast that burden upon Him. Release the weight of it into His strong arms. He’s waiting for you, to lay your burden down and leave it there.

Now, turn to 1 Peter 5:7 and do the same. Notice the reason our Lord wants us to cast our burdens and anxieties into His hands … He cares for us. For you. Astounding. We don’t pray because we’re “supposed to” or because He’ll be angry if we don’t. No. He cares for us. He knows the weight of our struggle. He knows the hopelessness we feel. Hand. It. To. Him.

Yet, even as I type the words, I am reminded of my own “casting” prayers … More times than I like to admit, I cast my burden into His hands, thank Him for taking care of it for me, and then promptly pick the burden back up.  My suitcase-of-difficulty tucked neatly under my arm as I walk away with the same burden I came to release. The same burden that I cast onto Him moments before. You laugh!

Whatever your pain or the pain of someone you love, acknowledge the burden of it and then cast it into His arms, as you walk away.  Leave it with Him. Knowing, “He’s got this.” Whatever the outcome, He’ll make a way. He will be faithful; He is always good.

“Heartache forces us to embrace God out of desperate, urgent need. God is never closer than when your heart is aching.”

– Joni Eareckson Tada

Father God, when I’m confronted with inevitable burdens of life, enable me to release the weight of those burdens into Your arms. Thank You that You care for me. For what affects me… Astounding. Thank You in advance for moving on my behalf. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

To help you on your journey, click here for a FREE pdf of the devotional, Stony Paths, learning to trust Him as we walk along the Stony Paths of real life, or to purchase a hard copy.

Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus

No Sugar-Coatings

Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort. For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. 2 Corinthians 1:7-10

“…but this happened so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead.” 2 Corinthians 1:9b AMP

I wince every time I hear the phrase or read a meme that says, “God won’t give us more than we can handle.” Because if you’ve been alive longer than ten minutes, you probably know experientially that there are indeed circumstances that are beyond us. Circumstances that send us reeling or that bring us to our literal knees with their gut-punch of ache and pain. If you’ve never experienced it, I bet you know someone who has.

I appreciate how authentic God’s Word is when dealing with real-life issues. No sugar-coating reality. In today’s scripture, the apostle Paul admits that the trial he’s just come out of was “utterly burdened beyond his own strength to endure” in fact, he “despaired of life,” it was so difficult. He wanted his fellow Believers to know that he understood their trials because he had walked through many himself. And In fact, they were so bad he felt like dying. He knew that such intense pain can cause God’s people to question all they know about Him and His promises.

Then we read this crucial point; “But this happened so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead.” Wait. Full stop. This whole trial was allowed, and then used by Almighty God, to reveal and uproot any trust/reliance that was not in God Himself. Used to literally teach/train the apostle to stop trusting in himself, but instead, “In God, who raises the dead.” If He can give life to dead bodies … He can give life to dead circumstances, dreams, marriages, hopes, heart-aches.… He wanted the reader to know this too.

When I overlay that truth onto my own life, I clearly see that such “shadow of death” trials have drawn me to my knees in dependance on the Lord. But first, the trial did its (very painful) work of causing all my other life-lines to fail. Teaching and training in the discipline of trusting Him, no matter the circumstance. Now, I wish I could tell you that this is a one-time, deep-trial event. It isn’t. This learning to trust when we have no strength to endure or when all hope is lost, or when we can’t see our way clear, is something we learn layer by layer, event by event. Until, one day we realize that our natural reaction has become, trust in God and not ourselves. Trust in God and not our ability, or our bank account, or our spouse, or good health, or _____________.  (And even then, refresher courses are needed!)

“The Psalms wrap nouns and verbs around our pain better than any other book.”

– Joni Eareckson Tada

I don’t know what trial is overwhelming you today, but He does. And He has promised to be with you, as He walks you through it. As He does, look for opportunities to purposefully trust Him along the way. Not for a picture-perfect, magazine-cover outcome, but to simply trust Him, whatever the outcome. He is good and He is entirely faithful. As always, let me encourage you to get out your Bible and read the Psalms or listen on a Bible app. Be proactive in your relationship with Him.

Don’t forget, there is more than one team on this field of life. The enemy would like nothing better than to discourage you and bring you to despair. Your Father God would like nothing better than to give you hope. Authentic hope. Found only in Him.

“True wisdom is found in trusting God when you can’t figure things out.”

– Joni Eareckson Tada

Father God, we sometimes walk through trials that feel more than we can bear. At those times, please remind us to trust in You and Your ability. To find our footing in You and not our own ability to endure. We love You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus

* Though well-meaning and usually used in an effort to encourage a person walking through a trial, it can have the opposite effect. Users often inadvertently misquote or misunderstand Scripture to make the point. It’s true that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond our ability to endure, that’s because in the midst of the temptation He has promised to provide a way of escape. Even then, He is the One providing a way for us. However, we must take the offered escape hatch or it will become more than we can endure. 1 Corinthians 10:13

Click here to purchase a hard copy or get a FREE pdf of the devotional, Stony Paths

Look Up

Give ear to my words, O Lord, Consider my meditation. Give heed to the voice of my cry, My King and my God, For to You I will pray. My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up.

Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.…

Psalm 5:1-3 NKJ   John 4:35b NKJ   Psalm 121:1-2 Berean Standard Bible

Recently, during my, before-work-one-eye-on-the-clock Bible reading, the words “And I will look up,” penetrated my heart. Reading and rereading the phrase as I sipped my morning coffee, I pulled out my phone and took a snap-shot of the Bible page in front of me, with the intention of reading it again later. I knew the Lord had His finger on something ….

I can be so self-focused, and so distracted by all that impacts my little sphere of life. Distracted by the challenges before me, or the length of a trial, or the heartache of what-if thinking.  To my embarrassment, I can even be distracted by the blessings God has given me. Do you struggle with any of this too?

If you want to test how self-focused you are, try this. If shown a group photo that you’re a part of, whose face do you look at first? Yep. Me too. We’re a sad lot.

As the day slowed down and I had a chance to mull over His Word, I knew what He was telling me. Look away from myself, and my trials, and my difficulties, and yes, even from the blessings He’s given me. Leave them all on the table, and look up to Him. My God, my Savior and my King. Start there.

Then, as I look away from myself, and to God, He reminds me of the importance of looking at those He has placed around me. Consider their pain, and look at their challenges, and what they may be walking through. There is so much pain all around us. Many of those we bump up against, are trying desperately to appear as if they have it all together. As if any of us do. Some believe the enemy’s lie that their particular circumstance is the exception to God’s promises. Even beyond hope.

While we cannot wave the proverbial wand or remove another’s pain, what we can do is lead them to (or remind them of) The One who can do the impossible. Our God and King. The Lord, Maker of heaven and earth. And help them, to look up as well. Away from the pain or even blessing, to God Himself.

“If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. If you look at God you’ll be at rest.”   

Corrie Ten Boom

Father, Please enable me to look up, away from all that distracts – to You. And to those You’ve put around me. For Your glory …. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus

Click here to purchase a hard copy or download a FREE pdf of the devotional, Stony Paths learning to trust Him as we walk the Stony Paths of real life.

You may also purchase Stony Paths, learning to Trust Him as we walk the Stony Paths of real life, by visiting Lulu Publishing or Amazon.

Salsa and Life

“Lord, do You not care…?” Luke 10:40 ESV (38-42 for entire story)

Homemade Salsa

“Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.”  Job 13:15 NKJV

This year, our daughter’s small backyard garden produced a bumper tomato crop, so with great anticipation, we set aside an entire day for me to show her the finer points of canning homemade salsa.  As we washed, diced and jarred the tomatoes, onions and peppers, we talked about life and family and our world. In the midst of it all, she asked one or two heavy questions that still linger in my thoughts. Before I share the questions, allow me to give you part of the short answer I gave her. “I don’t know. But I know we can trust Him.”

With obvious emotion she asked, “Mom, why did God allow a woman with several young children to die of cancer?” The heartfelt question that came amid the dicing of tomatoes and jalapenos, demanded more than a memorized theological answer. Keeping my hands busy with the task of canning, I thought/prayed how to answer her question. Even as I was secretly thankful she intuitively understood the larger issue of God’s control over all circumstances. Even tragedy.

Have such questions ever lodged in your heart? Have you ever thought deeply about why a divorce or why singleness? Why an addiction or why a betrayal? Why financial ruin or a broken relationship? Why the death of a child or the death of a hoped-for dream? Pain begs for an answer.

In today’s verses, we see two contrasting examples of facing the inevitable pain of real life. When Martha was confronted with the minor irritation of no help in the kitchen, she spoke almost harshly to the Lord Jesus, when she asked, “Lord, don’t You care?” By contrast, we read of Job, who has just been given the news that everything he owns has been stolen by an invading army, and all his servants killed. As this news hits his ears and before there’s time to digest the reality, another servant shows up to tell him the devastating news that all his children have perished in a freak accident. (Read Job 1 and 2). Job’s first response is to worship God. He knew he dare not give priority to his emotions; he spoke out what he knew to be true rather than allow his emotions to do the leading. A couple of chapters and several more trials later, we hear Job say, *“Though the Lord slay me, yet will I trust Him.”

Perhaps Martha was too self-focused as she rushed and hurried and grumbled… Whatever the reason, she snapped at the Lord Himself and accused Him of not caring.

Though Job didn’t understand the why of his horrific pain, he knew his God and he knew His character. So even in the midst of such guttural ache … he trusted.

Back to my daughter’s heartbreaking question – I could have offered to bullet-point Bible verses that academically explain God’s sovereign control over all things, or sin’s impact on our broken world, or God’s ability to bring good out of even the vilest circumstance, etc. But I did none of those. Now wasn’t the time. I admitted to her that I did not know the why of such tragedy, but I did know that we could trust God with it. Reminding her of the story that she’s heard repeated since childhood. Of her own brother and sister who died as babies, and how such tragedy taught me (still teaches me) to trust my Father God even when, (especially when), I don’t understand.

The best answer to a hurting heart is simply, “I am so sorry for your pain.”

Becky White

The truth is we may never know the why of a particular trauma this side of eternity. It’s enough to know our God is good and faithful and He can be trusted. Even with, and in, our pain. If He gave the life of His Son for us, surely we can trust Him when we don’t understand.

Father, I know You are good, and You are faithful, but there are times when life’s pain blinds us of that truth. Please enable us to rest in You as we walk through tragedy, or as we walk with others in their pain. We choose to trust You even when we don’t understand. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

I lay my “whys” before Your cross in worship kneeling, my mind too numb for thought, my heart beyond all feeling: And worshipping, I realize that I in knowing You don’t need a “why”.

– Ruth Bell Graham

Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus

*Some may say that God did not cause Job’s pain, but surely, we must agree that his trial came as a direct result of God’s permission.