My God, My God Why have you forsaken me? Some thoughts.

Life isn't always going to go the way you think it should go. We make plans and set goals and strive to achieve those outcomes, but the reality is that God determines the direction.

We pray for blessings, we pray for peace

Comfort for family, protection while we sleep

We pray for healing, for prosperity

Those of us who live in the most prosperous places in the world know those common prayers, for healing, for prosperity and protection while we sleep. We are not able to fathom that remote concept of what if bad things happen to us.  When I was in Guatemala on a missions trip several years ago, I discovered in a conversation with native Guatemalan's that most parents fully expect to outlive some of their children which is in contrast to America where we expect God to keep suffering at bay. 

We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering

All the while You hear each spoken need

Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops

What if Your healing comes through tears?

What if a thousand sleepless nights

Are what it takes to know You're near?

It is when tragedy strikes the very core of our being and we travel the lonely road of grief that we see the reality of those lyrics above. Is it possible for our blessings to come through raindrops, our healing come through tears, a thousand sleepless nights is what it takes to know You're near? It is true that pain and suffering actually draw us closer to our Lord.

What if trials of this life

Are Your mercies in disguise?

We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear

As a young man, I remember my discipleship leader going around and asking each of us how we were doing, and one by one each of us responded to that question. Almost without exception, one or two piped up that things were going great which someone would say half-jokingly that we should pray for trials for them. We have this idea in America that as a Christian if I do X, Y  and Z that I will live a very prosperous life, void of all suffering and pain.

We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near

We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love

As if every promise from Your Word is not enough

And all the while You hear each desperate plea

So many of us avoid expressing anger at God, not knowing that our God is bigger than our anger. He appreciates it when we express our emotions to him. He wants us to communicate with him just as your son and daughter communicate with you. As pain and suffering enter our lives, we discover a deeper relationship with our God.

And long that we'd have faith to believe

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops

What if Your healing comes through tears?

And what if a thousand sleepless nights

Are what it takes to know You're near?

And what if trials of this life

Are Your mercies in disguise?

Most people have no idea of the reality of the above lyric- that blessings can come through raindrops. through tears, through a thousand sleepless nights, through the trials of life. Some people run away from God while believing that if God is so good, then why do bad things happen?

When friends betray us when darkness seems to win

We know that pain reminds this heart

That this is not, this is not our home

It's not our home

When Jesus Christ hung on the cross to die, he felt betrayal from his Father in heaven when he screamed those words, "My God, My God why have you betrayed me!? Betrayal and darkness is everywhere, it seems. From our political representatives who we thought held the secrets to make our lives better to our earthly fathers who decided to abandoned us.

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops

What if Your healing comes through tears

And what if a thousand sleepless nights

Are what it takes to know You're near 

What if my greatest disappointments

Or the aching of this life

Is the revealing of a greater thirst

This world can't satisfy 

And what if trials of this life 

The rain, the storms, the hardest nights 

Are Your mercies in disguise

Many of us would rather spend thousands of dollars to hear a motivational speaker tickle our ears with things that make us feel good for that moment than to trust the God in heaven through the words of the ancient text that have been proven over time. In the book of Joshua are these words '5 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of [a]the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

The way of true racial conciliation is through conversations and getting to know people as God sees them

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He [a]made us accepted in the Beloved.

 It appears that God extends more grace toward us than we do toward other people. How quick we are to shed certain relationships from our lives when others do not live up to our standards, or the moment they hurt us with the slightest insult or verbal injury, or in some cases when we've been physically injured at the hands of someone. 

Since our loss in 2007, I have read numerous faith stories of people experiencing inner peace not long after forgiving those who hurt them. John 3:16 is a verse that comes to mind-'God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.'  

If we could see the world through God's eyes, we would see suffering and hurting people crying out for someone to save them from the ravishes of life. If we could see the world through God's eyes, we would see people of all ethnicities searching for the one true source for their physical, emotional and spiritual suffering. 

Yet, it is easy to forget this thought when we find ways to congregate only with those who are 'like us'. For example, as I was walking out of the Coon Rapids Lowes I noticed a darker skin couple struggling with loading their recent large purchase into their Menards rental truck. I went over to them offering to help steady the large box so he could get it into place on the back of their truck.  I'm sure his smaller wife was very much appreciative of my assistance. Once we were able to get the item into place I introduced myself, looked him in the eye and shook his hand. He thanked me for my assistance. I realized not long after how much God loved this couple and even though their skin tone was different, they were like me.

  They say that the most segregated part of the week is our Sunday services because of the tendency to only worship with those who are like us.  The moment we experience more people of color or ethnicities coming into our congregation many begin feeling this uncomfortableness that causes some to find a church elsewhere where people are like them.  

In her later years, Corrie Ten Boon had an encounter with a reformed Nazi concentration camp guard, a man who was notorious in his punishment at the concentration camp she was at, a man who accepted Jesus Christ into his heart and was excited about his new found faith that he wanted to seek forgiveness from those he had hurt.  At first, Corrie was unable to forgive this man because of what he did to his sister, Betsy, but when he saw that Jesus forgave all of her sin's that she should forgive that man's sin's as well.' For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten son is a powerful reminder of how we should view people of all ethnicities. It is also a reminder that the way toward racial reconciliation is through getting to know others, not like us, one conversation at a time. When we do, we will see that they are just like us!

In 1991, Eric Clapton's 4 year old son fell to his tragic death from on top of a high rise apartment. Out of his own incredible pain came a song that spoke from the heart of anyone who has ever lost a child.

8 For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, 9 and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles,and sing to your name.”  Romans 15:8-9

The year was  March 20, 1991. The news sent shock waves across America as we learned about his 4-year-old son falling tragically to his death from the top floor of a friend's apartment. Somehow the boy found a crack in the window causing this tragedy to occur.

 Eric Clapton arrived home shortly after the tragedy occurred and for many months he was visibly shaken by this loss. 

In 1991, neither of our kids were born; yet, I felt the incredible emotions of his song, line after line. Yet, it wasn't until my own tragic loss in 2007 that I truly understood what this pain was like.

As you read these lyrics you may feel the emotions behind the words of this song. Anyone who has ever suffered the painful loss of a child will vouch for the intensity of those words. 

Emotions run deep after the loss of a child, and for some, surviving this grief means turning to one's musical gifts. As in Eric Clapton's case, he wrote a beautiful song that became an instant blockbuster. 

There is hope to all who are grieving the loss of a child. This same Jesus who came to their child's side to carry him home is the same Jesus who walks beside those caught in the trap of those emotions.

If you are that person experiencing heartbreak from such a loss, just know that Jesus loves you and because of his death and resurrection clearly understands your pain.  How we wish we could unravel all of the emotional pain this grief causes, but the most we can hope to see is a little sliver of heaven to remind us that our loved one is okay and safely in the arms of Jesus.

[Verse 1]

Would you know my name

If I saw you in heaven?

Would it be the same

If I saw you in heaven? 

I must be strong and carry on 

‘Cause I know I don't belong here in heaven 

[Verse 2]

Would you hold my hand

If I saw you in heaven?

Would you help me stand

If I saw you in heaven?

I'll find my way through night and day

‘Cause I know I just can't stay here in heaven 

[Bridge]Time can bring you down, time can bend your knees

Time can break your heart, have you begging please, begging, please

Beyond the door, there's peace I'm sure

And I know there'll be no more tears in heaven 

[Verse 3]Would you know my name

If I saw you in heaven?

Would you feel the same

If I saw you in heaven?

I must be strong and carry on

Because I know I don't belong here in heaven