He Will
I think as kids we don't really grasp hardship and hurting. We certainly don't fully grasp the finality of death. It's also assumed that hard things happen to other people and not us and certainly not regularly. I guess maybe we carry some of that into adulthood, the idea that hardship is a fleeting, foreign thing. Reality, however, has proven that hardship in one form or another is a constant. We carry hurt with us. We love, therefore we are vulnerable, therefore we can be broken.
I can't resist a Coldplay quote here:
"Nobody said it was easy.
No one ever said it would be this hard."
Also, as Jack Johnson so aptly summed up my childhood:
"We used to laugh a lot,
But only because we thought
That everything good
Always would
Remain."
I realize it is naive and straight up false to say that every child lives a blissful, hurt-free life. There is SO MUCH hurt and darkness that children face every day all around us. And certainly I faced my own heartaches as a child. However, I think I have unconsciously been living in the assumption that it is my right as an adult human in middle America to not have to face brokenness and hurt and sorrow on the regular.
The Bible confirms the reality that suffering is a part of life that is to be expected. Here is a quick google search for verses about suffering:
"Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted," 2 Timothy 3:12
"For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake..." Philippians 1:29
"...In the world you will have tribulation..." John 16:33
" Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you." Peter 4:12
How does the beloved promise in Romans 8:28 (all things work together for good) fit with these verses? Our definition of good doesn't conjure up pictures of heartache and loss and sorrow and brokenness. What exactly does Romans 8:28 promise? If you look one verse further than verse 28, you see what God means by working everything for good: "For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son..." Bit by bit, he is stripping and chipping and tearing away our own rottenness and sinful selves to make us more like Jesus: full of grace and mercy, full of love and compassion, full of holiness and justice. And ultimately, of course, so that he will be glorified! Our good is ultimately to be less of who we are and more like Jesus. God brings us through suffering in order to bring himself glory as we are changed day to day. His strength is made perfect through our weakness.
So, while today I may be facing more news of heartache, I know that what God promises he will do:
He'll bind up the broken hearted
Oh he will
Oh he will
"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." Psalm 147:3
I can't resist a Coldplay quote here:
"Nobody said it was easy.
No one ever said it would be this hard."
Also, as Jack Johnson so aptly summed up my childhood:
"We used to laugh a lot,
But only because we thought
That everything good
Always would
Remain."
I realize it is naive and straight up false to say that every child lives a blissful, hurt-free life. There is SO MUCH hurt and darkness that children face every day all around us. And certainly I faced my own heartaches as a child. However, I think I have unconsciously been living in the assumption that it is my right as an adult human in middle America to not have to face brokenness and hurt and sorrow on the regular.
The Bible confirms the reality that suffering is a part of life that is to be expected. Here is a quick google search for verses about suffering:
"Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted," 2 Timothy 3:12
"For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake..." Philippians 1:29
"...In the world you will have tribulation..." John 16:33
" Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you." Peter 4:12
How does the beloved promise in Romans 8:28 (all things work together for good) fit with these verses? Our definition of good doesn't conjure up pictures of heartache and loss and sorrow and brokenness. What exactly does Romans 8:28 promise? If you look one verse further than verse 28, you see what God means by working everything for good: "For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son..." Bit by bit, he is stripping and chipping and tearing away our own rottenness and sinful selves to make us more like Jesus: full of grace and mercy, full of love and compassion, full of holiness and justice. And ultimately, of course, so that he will be glorified! Our good is ultimately to be less of who we are and more like Jesus. God brings us through suffering in order to bring himself glory as we are changed day to day. His strength is made perfect through our weakness.
So, while today I may be facing more news of heartache, I know that what God promises he will do:
He'll bind up the broken hearted
Oh he will
Oh he will
"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." Psalm 147:3
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