A key factor in accepting God’s plan for us is trust. Do you trust God? If so, how far does that trust go? Too often our trust in God is colored more by our human relationships and our desires for information and comfort rather than the truth about who He is and His promises to us.
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As I write this, I am enjoying a lovely day. The air is clean after a summer rain, it is warm, the sun is shining, there is a nice breeze and the birds are singing. So far, it is quite easy for me to rejoice and be glad in this day.
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“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.” Genesis 50:20
When starting a new support group, I ask participants to define a few words. Two of those words are good and bad. A quick search provided the following: good – “to be desired or approved of”; bad – “of poor quality; inferior or defective” and “not such as to be hoped for or desired; unpleasant or unwelcome”. The synonyms are more direct with words like healthy, fine, sound, fit, robust, sturdy, strong, and vigorous versus substandard, poor, inferior, unsatisfactory, inadequate, unacceptable, imperfect, defective, faulty, and miserable. These are consistent with participants’ responses. Admittedly, for a significant portion of my life, I would have agreed with these definitions. However, God has brought me to the place where I understand that, in our haste to categorize, we are often missing two key components: complete information and perspective. Specifically we often lack all of the finer details and regularly forget the eternal perspective which can significantly change our overall view of any given condition, situation or trial. In that light, my health may be substandard, poor and inferior, but I would not classify my situation bad.
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Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. James 1:2-3
I’m glad James used the plural version. Illness isn’t just one trial; it’s a complex series of trials. The base line is the illness itself, the side effects of the required medications or the residual symptoms created by a treatment. Another layer is the endless stream of necessary procedures, or the “random” infection the pops up at a most inconvenient time. Let’s not forget equipment errors, like dislodging your PICC line an hour before you’re supposed to renew your wedding vows because you were in hurry when you flushed the line. The social layer is no small thing. People often don’t understand why you have to cancel plans; why you’re so quiet when you’re just trying to keep it together; or the avoidance techniques you have to develop to sidestep that well intentioned bear hug aimed at the new scar or implant. And then there are the related social pressures of the well-meaning but misguided to have a better attitude, more faith or resolve that unconfessed sin. Even the general population weighs in like the TSA agent that gets irritated that you refuse to put your TPN bag on the conveyer despite showing them the IV going into your arm or the person who questions the validity of you using a handicapped space because you don’t have a wheelchair. Finally, there’s what goes on in your mind in the middle of the night or when your situations seems unbearable: complete terror, doubting God’s goodness and your faith, questioning you’re ability to endure, or worrying about the impact on those you love. I could go on, but I’ll stop there. Besides, you have your own set of trials and understand the problem all too vividly. So yes, James is correct to say trials; but why are we to be joyful?
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