Don't Be Surprised By Troubles

Peter says, "Don't be surprised by the fiery troubles that are coming in order to test you. don't feel as though something strange is happening to you, but be happy as you share Christ's sufferings." Peter's imagery reminds us that fiery troubles will come, and they have a purpose. Isaiah says that God "has tested you in the furnace of suffering." David says in Psalms that God tested him like silver. Peter says that we shouldn't become upset or think it's strange when we experience this fire. We are tested by fire, just as as precious metal is refined by fire.

When we go through this suffering, though, God doesn't abandon us - he strengthens us. Martin Luther says, "The gospel is a powerful Word, but it cannot do its work without trials. No one will discover its power unless he experiences it. The gospel can only show its power where there is a cross and where there is suffering."

The Catholic Church has a long tradition about suffering - one that includes the concept that one cannot truly experience God's presence unless they have suffered significantly. I understand that is one of their tests for sainthood. But nobody in this culture is likely to ask to be in pain or have difficulties - most often I hear prayers that God take them away.

So it becomes an interesting conundrum - do we pray against the pain, asking God to take it away? Or do we thank Him for it because we know we grow through His walking beside us as we go through it? What do you think?

Faith - The Bridge Over Troubled Waters

Near where I live is a lovely river that runs through town. In the spring the waters run fast and present quite a spectacle. There is a foot bridge that suspends you just a few feet above a narrow waterfall. Unable to hear anything but the sound of the water, I inch out onto the swinging, narrow walkway to become immersed in the sounds, sights, smells and spray of the water. It is as close to the violence nature can create as I ever want to be.

Nearby is another bridge. I have driven over that bridge maybe once a week for the last 20 years. It is a major road through the town. There are high walls that make it difficult to even see the river. Most of the time I drive over that bridge focused on something else - usually which lane I need to find on the other side and don't even think about the fact that I was on a bridge and there is a torrent below me. Several years it was well into summer before I realized that I had missed the whole see-the-beautiful-waterfall spectacle of the spring.

Our faith - the knowledge that God loves us, knows what we need and will care for us - is sometimes like that first bridge. We are intimately aware of the power of the troubled waters of our lives and how God is providing a way over them. We may get a little wet, but will emerge unscathed despite the power of the situation. Fortunately, though, most of our "bridge" experiences become more like the second variety - we sail over them oblivious to the torrent below us - focused on where God is leading us. We learn to trust Him no matter the amount of water in the river. Our faith is being sure of what we hope for - what God has promised - and He will provide.

Why We Pray

We can't wait to pray until we feel worthy to pray. Martin Luther said, "Prayer must not be based on or depend on your personal worthiness or the quality of the prayer itself but on the unchanging truth of God's promise. If the prayer is based on itself, or on anything else besides God's promise, then it's a false prayer that deceives you. We become worthy to pray when we risk everything on God's faithfulness alone." We are only able to pray because God bridged the gap between him and us, not because we have earned the right to pray.

Just as we can't wait to pray until we feel worthy, we also can't base our desire to pray on whether or not we feel God is listening, or if we think He will answer it. God always listens, regardless of how we feel. I have heard people say that their prayers 'hit the ceiling and bounced right back down' which reflects their attitude rather than God's aptitude. And, while some people seem to have a special direct line to God in their prayers, God listens to all of us equally. There are some folks I call when I need Serious Praying done, but that doesn't mean any of us have an excuse to not pray. God hears us all and responds to all of us. He loves us! He has given us promises - which He always keeps!

Prayer is sharing our thoughts, desires, feelings, and fears with our Father who loves us fully and without reservation. There isn't anything better than that.