This morning Derek was handling the homeschooling for me so that I could get out of the house and spend some time processing with the Lord. These dates with my Savior are so life-giving and clarifying of what His heart is for me. I’m so thankful for the way He and Derek both prioritize these times for me.
I was at Starbucks beginning to write and process some thoughts when I was interrupted by a song playing on my spotify playlist: Well Done, Good and Faithful, by Andrew Peterson.
I had just discovered this song yesterday and added it to my playlist. When it came on via my earbuds this morning, my mind was immediately drawn to think of a dear friend here who is suffering in the hospital. I’ve been praying for her a lot, and this song reminded me that the suffering we endure in our physical bodies is one of God’s mysterious means of uniting us even more closely with our Savior who Himself endured suffering in submission to the Father’s good plan.
Why would my Heavenly father bruise
the son he loved so well?
He prayed in dark Gethsemane, "Withhold this bitter cup"
But he resigned his will to thee and drank the sorrows up
Our savior cried with David's grief,
"In groans I waste my breath
Thy hand has brought me down beneath the bitter dust of death"
And then he gave his spirit up to trust it in your hand
His dying flesh reposed in hope, to rise at your command
Why, oh why, my God?
Why, oh why, my God?
For the joy set before him he endured
And is seated at the right hand of the throne
Well done, good and faithful, well done
Well done, good and faithful, well done
Well done good and faithful one
As the song points out, it was for the JOY set before Him that Christ endured the agony of the cross (Romans 12:2). Yet we know from Christ’s prayer in Gethsemane that He also longed to give up that bitter cup. What a dichotomy! To both reel against the pain that flesh was not made to endure and simultaneously long for the beauty of submission to the Father.
As beloved children of the same Father, we are called to be united with Christ in this dichotomy.
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, - Colossians 1:24
I found myself praying this for my friend—praying that she would identify with her Savior in her suffering, and that this unity with the Son of God would result in great joy and even gratitude in her heart.
God then brought another friend to mind—one who is suffering with cancer in the United States, and I prayed these things for him and his family as well. And as I did, I continued to question with the artist,
Why, oh why, my God?
Why, oh why, my God?
As the beautiful response from the song played in my mind, I sensed the Holy Spirit impressing on my heart the notion that every single moment of acceptance and submission to the suffering that God permits in our lives is a beautiful representation of God’s miraculous work in our hearts and a colossal victory against the enemy’s agenda. Our flesh cannot accept nor rest in hurt and pain, and our spirits testify to us that we were not created for it, yet in Christ the supernatural becomes possible.
Hurt precipitates beauty
Need begets deliverance
Death creates life.
Redemption, a concept so beautiful that God worked it into the most basic fabric of human society from the beginning, only comes to bear in the face of evil.
Then God had another interruption for me. I received a phone call from a different Peruvian friend who has been sick with COVID and Pneumonia. She called in need of encouragement as her daughter is now suffering as well, and she asked if I could bring a few groceries. What an incredible blessing it was to me to be offered this opportunity to minister tangibly to my sister in Christ even as the Lord was already drawing my heart to pray for the comfort and spiritual renewal of those in my life who are struggling.
As I shopped for my friend and journeyed to her house, I prayed that the Lord might use me to bless and encourage her and that He might choose to use me to represent His deep love for her. It was such a blessing to sit with her and pray over her, and remind her of truths from God’s word. And when she responded with great gratitude to me, it was such a joy to be able to convey that it was her heavenly Father who was loving her and that I was merely His undeserving, yet honored messenger to her this day—for that’s what the body of Christ does. Each member reflects to the others the love of the Father who Himself possesses and exudes all of the love that exists in the universe.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. – 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. – Philippians 2:1-2
I’ve spent so much time lately reading in the scriptures about the beautiful way that the body of Christ is meant to function—every member responding to the Head (Christ) and moving in unison with the others caring for those in need at times and receiving from the others at other times. What a beautiful privilege to take part in this living, breathing, organism which is supernaturally propelled and directed by Christ Himself.
I am thankful that the Holy Spirit deemed me worthy of His interruption today. It is truly an honor to be called upon to join my Father in ministering to His beloved children, and to be drawn into His heart for them.
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways!
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