We have a tendency to judge things in our lives and in others. Good, bad, fair, unfair. We mete out “justice” as we make proclamations about what we can see and how we see it. But our view is so limited.
Feelings associated with a circumstance do not determine the outcome. Just because I feel anger, sadness, loss or any of a myriad of other emotions doesn’t mean that I can then determine God’s judgment upon the circumstance.
If I had been Joseph or David or Paul, I would have had some serious misgivings about what God was and wasn’t doing. In fact, I think I would have felt I was being treated unfairly. Follow God, they said. It will be fun, they said. Or at least He will bring life and light and freedom. The problem is that we expect these things without the pain needed to bring them.
Inside Out is a kids' movie that portrays the inner emotions of a child’s brain in a really cute and insightful way. Joy is promoted as the most important emotion with sadness taking last place in necessity after anger and disgust. In the end, though, it is made clear that joy is experienced through sadness, and you can’t get rid of one without the other.
We don’t like that. We want to believe that in our humanity we would be very satisfied with no pain, challenges or struggle. But I think human nature begs to differ. We don’t know joy without pain, or freedom without imprisonment, or victory without struggle. These things would be meaningless without the difficulties that come in the between.
We need to shift our viewpoint. Death is painful, but not the end. Sickness is hard, but we can experience contentedness in it. Betrayal cuts deep, but we can find God’s faithfulness to be enough only when we need it. We will not often willingly choose to learn closeness with God. We must be put in a place where the relationship with Him is the only source enough to get us through.
So whatever suffering you experience today, whatever heartache or betrayal or loss--will you seek His face with me for His viewpoint which is above ours? The why is not nearly as important as the how. How will I get through this? By His loving hand, His fierce grace and His ever-present faithfulness. That doesn’t make the emotion change necessarily, but it brings purpose and meaning to that which makes no sense. If He can bring beauty from ashes and the oil of joy from mourning, He can even do that with your ashes and your mourning.
I think this is part of the renewing of the mind that Christ does in us. We begin to see things from a different viewpoint—a place we would never have looked if we had not experienced the difficulties. This new perspective gives a beautiful hue to every circumstance as nothing can define us, but we bring God’s definition to it.
Beloved friends, what should be our proper response to God’s marvelous mercies? I encourage you to surrender yourselves to God to be his sacred, living sacrifices. And live in holiness, experiencing all that delights his heart. For this becomes your genuine expression of worship. Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes. Romans 12:1-2