I suppose the bombardment of news stories, Facebook prayers, and the like, have caused me to pause and reflect and wonder how I might be able to express my feelings today.
Then one of those facebook posts spoke to me. It is the lyrics to a Christmas song from about 20 or so years ago
I want to share it with you:
Tears are falling, hearts are breaking
How we need to hear from God
You've been promised, we've been waiting
Welcome Holy Child
Bring Your peace into our violence
Bid our hungry souls be filled
Word now breaking Heaven's silence
Welcome to our world
Fragile fingers sent to heal us
Tender brow prepared for thorns
Tiny heart whose blood will save us
Unto us is born
So wrap our injured flesh around You
Breathe our air and walk our sod
Rob our sin and make us holy
Perfect Son of God
Perfect Son of God
Welcome to our world
This is a morning when 20 sets of parents, as well as husbands and wives, opened their eyes ( if sleep ever came ) and had a split second of peace, only to have their sorrowful reality come flooding over their wounded souls like an inescapable ocean wave.
The very depths of their souls are wrenched in pain.
A tiny hamlet in Connecticut is longing for answers this morning. They are searching for meaning. They are wondering where God was during such an act of horrendous evil. I know that in our human-ness, our minds are bombarded with questions. We cannot imagine such suffering. Broken hearts long for someone or something to give us what so many times we cannot find. To answer the unanswerable. To find peace amid the chaos. Healing for shattered lives. A comfort that just won't come.
But those things DID come.
They came in the form of the very God who created the universe, wrapped in humanity and held tightly in the arms of a teenage mom. A mom who needed this tiny Son to save even HER. HE was the answer to the brokenness of a fallen world.
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us...John 1:14
I suppose I am looking for my own answers and peace this morning. And He is speaking. My need for answers cannot compare to the parent who has just lost a child. But He understands my questioning as much as the ones experiencing the deep pain.
I can imagine there are questions today of "How can God be good and allow such things to happen?"
"Where was God?"
"Why would God permit such tragedies if He truly loved us?"
It is impossible to answer all the why's of God allowing us to walk through such darkness. But I do know where He was. He was there. He was in that room with those babies. He was in the firehouse with the parents who were waiting in vain for their children to walk out of that school. He was there...And He is here.
I also know another thing: He can be trusted.
God never said that we would not go through pain. In fact, He told us the opposite.
John 16:33 says:
He also told us that He would walk with us through the pain:
The times when we are in our deepest despair can become our most precious times with Him. He promises that we can have peace, even when we can't comprehend it.
I cannot pretend to understand such grief. But I have seen dear friends experience the loss of their children, and I have seen strength that I cannot explain. He is there. And He gives hope.
I believe that God wants us to know Him. Completely and totally. All of Him.
It would be impossible to know God's peace if we didn't have turmoil.
...to know His comfort if we didn't have pain.
...to know His joy if we didn't experience sorrow
...to know His healing if we weren't ever broken.
We can be certain that our suffering is never in vain, and that God will only allow us to go through what can be used later for His greater glory. He won't allow pain without a purpose. God has a plan. That plan can be trusted, and as the song once said, "When you can't trace His hand, trust His heart."
He is good. He is faithful. He is worthy of our praise and our love even on the darkest days.
So during this time of such tremendous sorrow, there is hope. There are promises that will not be broken. We look to the Christ Child in the manger. He came to bring light into this dark world. He came to rescue us from that darkness. This world needs His light. So when the conversations come, whether in person, or on Facebook, remind others of the Hope that we have who have put our trust in Him. This is an opportunity to introduce the TRUE Christ Child to someone who is without hope and without answers.
Tears are falling, hearts are breaking
How we need to hear from God
You've been promised, we've been waiting
Welcome Holy Child
God grant your peace. Hear the cries of the broken. Let your Spirit wrap up the hearts of those in unspeakable pain. Jesus, be TRULY near during this Christmas season. Show us your glory and give us hope. Light the way out of the darkness. Comfort. Heal. Restore. Love. We give you the praise you deserve and we trust you completely.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment