No Room for Sorrow, Part 1
"O Lord, you have deceived me,
and I was deceived;
you are stronger than I,
and you have prevailed.
I have become a laughingstock all
the day;
everyone mocks me.
"Why did I come out from the
womb
to see toil and sorrow,
and spend my days in shame?"
-Jeremiah 20:7, 18
I do not anticipate hearing these words of Jeremiah put to song anytime soon. In fact, I have come to the conclusion that if one were to say these types of words (as a matter of personal feeling and experience) in most average local churches, you may be looked upon with many blank stares or quickly met with exhortations to have a more positive attitude. Would it be that some may think you are expressing doubt of God's provision? Would some perhaps think that such a statement is unchristian?
This past Thursday I attended a leadership luncheon hosted by the Cornerstone Church in Americus, Georgia. Those in attendance were treated to the insights of church planter and pastor, Eric Lawson of St. Louis, Missouri. Eric spoke on the struggles of leadership and I promise you that there was much meat to be chewed upon with gladness.
Eric made a statement that resonated with me and caused me to think about the prophet Jeremiah. He spoke of how when we face difficulty in leadership (which everyone faces difficulty in various circumstances), our tendency is to pray away that which causes us to be dependent on God.
My mind immediately drifted to Jeremiah 20. It is, perhaps, one of the most heart-wrenching and challenging chapters in the entire Bible. Jeremiah was called of God to announce judgement on the people of God. His ministry was met with complete rejection from the intended audience. In fact, he was beaten up and put in "the stocks" by the Pashhur the priest. The torment Jeremiah received from being faithful to God was not just mental but intensely physical as well.
Jeremiah comes to the conclusion that he does not want a way of escape--rather, he deduces that never having had existed would have been the best option of all. "Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father, 'A son is born to you..." because he did not kill me in the womb..." (Jeremiah 20:15, 17) Even a casual bible reader can hear the extreme pain and overwhelming sorrow of the prophet.
What would you have said to Jeremiah? (Honestly, the biblical evidence suggests that you would have thought that Jeremiah was a loon and probably would have rejected him. See Jeremiah 1:1 - 20:6). Have you ever been so overwhelmed that having never lived appeared to be the best option? How do we handle such cirumstances? This question seems particularly pertinent in a nation where most Christians are always looking for their best life now and seven steps to being healthy, wealthy and wise. What is one to make of a life in following God where circumstances threaten to hurt or destroy or kill? How is one to function when the cry of the heart is that of Jeremiah 20:14...
"Cursed be the day on which I was born! The day when my mother
bore me, let it not be blessed."
I challenge you to ruminate for some time with Jeremiah 20. I pray for you and myself that we will meet our friends and neighbors and fellow followers of Christ that suffer with great care. I pray that we will not insult them with the call of just being more positive. I pray that we will make room within our Christian experience for complaint and sorrow.
posted by Rodney A. Bradford @ 3:41 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
I think that most Christians do not really know what to do w/ the situation where other believes are facing difficulties. Many of the responses we've had to our time of difficulty has been that God has great blessings out there for us since we've shown such "great faith." And that is nothing more than American Christianity. The testimony from scripture & from present-day suffering is that many believers NEVER receive what was promised (Heb. 11). In God's economy of things, that is the best thing. And the reason we have difficulty believing that is because we have become indoctrinated w/ our own brand of the Christian faith. We can't imagine people not being blessed here on earth when they go through a trial. And yet thousands in Africa & Asia suffer for the cause of Christ & never know anything else.
Perhaps the best we can do when others suffer is what Job's friends did at the first - "they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes . . . Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him because they saw how great his suffering was." (Job 2:11ff). Now that was a great response! Some suffering is too much for words.
Rodney,
Great insight. There was a lot that Erik said on Thursday that stirred me and that comment about praying away the very thing that makes us dependant upon God was one of them. I had not made the connection to Jeremiah. But your words ring true.
We want a life where we know the power of his resurrection, but not one where we become partakers in his suffering. Both are necessary. Both are from God. Let all the Calvinsts say, "Amen!"
Derek
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