(Excerpt from the Second Quarter Edition of the FAR & NEAR 2022)
It was Oswald Chambers who said, “Life is more tragic than orderly”. Was he being pessimistic? No. He was probably being more realistic. Every day the media beams into our homes reports of incidents that distress and disturb us. In the medical field we face the issue of seemingly unmerited suffering and tragic illnesses almost daily. Most of us would have voiced (usually sub vocally), “Oh why Lord, why?”
Dr Scot Peck begins his famous book ‘The road less travelled’ with the statement “Life is difficult”. The Fall has turned this fair world of God’s lovely creation into shambles. Though much about the world is still beautiful, calamities and suffering are a reality. Often our refusal to accept this fact is what makes our problems more difficult to bear. There is nothing wrong in wishing that things were not so, but when we demand that they be different, when we say the effects of the Fall must be reversed and reversed now, we will end up feeling terribly frustrated. This demanding attitude and the feeling of entitlement will only lead us to frustration and anger.
Job wanted an explanation for his puzzling suffering. He said that if he could have an interview with God, he would tell Him exactly what he thought of Him! (Job 23: 1-17). St Teresa of Avila is supposed to have said, “Lord, if this is how You treat your friends, it is no wonder You have so few!” We can be honest with God.
If we refuse to face reality and admit to ourselves and to God our perplexity, we are not alert to hear His voice. Unfortunately, some think that a Christian should never feel sad or depressed and tend to deny these genuine emotions, leading to what some call “Ecclesiogenic Neurosis!” God expects truth in our innermost part. Indeed, Lord Jesus experienced great sorrow and grief. Apostle Paul admitted he was perplexed, but not in despair and said “…we may be knocked down, but not knocked out!” 2 Cor 4:9 (JB Phillip’s version).
We note that God did not answer Job’s questions. Job had an encounter with God that more than satisfied him. He could live without the answers when he knew God was there. He realised that God was perfectly capable of running His world and deserved to be taken on trust. True faith is Job saying, “Though He slay me, yet I will hope in Him”. This is probably what made one of our doctors, at the verge of death battling chronic lymphatic leukaemia, and his wife in coma after a recent accident, say raising his frail hands to everyone who visited him till his dying day, “God is good, all the time”.
Anyone can believe when there are explanations and answers. The person who goes on to know God in a deep and intimate way is the one who can affirm that God is good even though there may be a thousand appearances to the contrary. May we come to the place of trusting God and His goodness, even when we cannot trace Him.
Susheel K Tharien
