Suffering: Job

The book of Job poses the hard question: What is the purpose of suffering?

Job was a good guy, strong active member, great family, did everything right, very blessed and extremely generous and kind. The change in his circumstance was so dramatic it caused his friends and family to question his righteousness and his worth. For Job his integrity was resolute, but as his suffering continued and deepened he too started to question. These questions changed his life!

No matter who you are, at some point you think you have it figured out. Life seems to make sense and be working in your favor. Like calm spring days these moments can seem endless. Then everything changes, a storm comes and the world is turned on its head. The home you grew up in implodes; your health takes a tumble, someone dear to you dies, your finances change, your relationship crumbles, and all you are left with is questions.

It is hard to have answers unless you first have questions, and unless you really want to know, you will not appreciate the answers enough to truly let them change you.

Job’s suffering and subsequent questions lead him to some very special understandings: he exclaims “For I know that my redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God”(Job 19:25-26).  

But more important; his questions and the answers they brought lead him to great personal change. He remarked “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:5-6)

Maybe suffering (as Job puts it) is the mechanism God uses to refine our poor theory into rich experience. May we not be afraid of it!

An unoxthodox life: Esther

Esther is a lovely story of courage and inspiration, and highlights an important gospel principle – that each of us has a work to do. Esther finds herself in a precarious position of being crowned queen, but responsible for the safety of the Jewish people in Persia. Her adoptive father Mordecai reminds her of her great worth and place ‘who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this’

Esther’s life was not the planned pattern for a Jewish woman. She left her home, hid her heritage, married out of the faith, and was unable to practice her religion. She had to compromise some of her covenants, walk a line away from her people, give up her lineage and sacrifice her birthright.

None of these choices would have seemed appropriate or understandable to her orthodox peers, but yet we have this wonderful story and heroic life.

Esther is a story about the contradictory, the unorthodox and the unplanned in all of us. While we aim for the ‘ideal’ we will likely have something quite different happen in our lives. It may be grand, inconvenient, ostracizing, challenging, or even heartbreaking – yet in the midst we might realize our great worth and be called upon to accomplish God's miraculous purpose.

Esther becomes Queen

Those that be for you: 2 Kings 6:8-18

The King of Syria sent an army to capture Elisha. When Elisha’s servant awoke the city was surrounded and there was no escape, he petitioned his master ‘how shall we do?’ Elisha answered ‘Fear not: for they that be with us are more that they that be with them’. Then Elisha prayed that his servant could see what he saw – and a vision of horses and chariots of fire surrounding the prophet was revealed.

Elisha’s opening the eyes of his servant is the quintessential concept of the gospel. That there is much more going on than we can see with our eyes. To be a faithful follower is an understanding that there is lots going on that we can’t see, and much going on behind the scenes in our behalf.

At the heart of this experience is the idea of a spiritual veil separating us from this heavenly perspective.  As Latter Day Saints we recognize a veil between us and those that have died and also a veil of forgetfulness that masks our past pre-birth existence and godly beginnings.  Our royal lineage is hidden from us by this veil of amnesia and our eternal potential also obscured from our view. In this valley of mediocrity we wallow aware that there is something else but not quite able to put our finger on it.

Having this gospel narrative gives us a hope that while we struggle with our mortality that there is something much greater that we are accomplishing. By being aware of the eternal possibilities we can use our time more productively and with much more purpose.

If we exercise faith and pray for greater understanding, the veil can be pulled back a little or become very thin and we too can see at least a portion of what is really going on.

A new perpective!

Elijah: 1 Kings 17,19

Elijah is one of Israel’s most dramatic prophets. Saving the Widow with an endless supply of flour & oil, raising her son from the dead and calling down fire from heaven on his pursuers, it reads like a Hollywood screen play.

Amongst the almost theatrical are heart felt stories of the dichotomies of lifes challenges. The widow is thankful for the miraculous salvation but then is gripped with fear when her son suddenly dies. The same hand that had dealt her great favor was now the hand that was bent on her destruction. Was it a test of her faith? Was it an opportunity for Elijah to learn? Or was it a greater lesson that all the Lord does for us - is for our good, even when to looks to us like a tragedy?

As a young prophet Elijah was fearless in confronting the wicked King Ahab and his wife Jezebel. But later on in his life despite numerous miracles and spectacular preservation by the Lord, Elijah found himself alone and afraid. In a cave in Horeb hiding from his pursuers, the Lord came to find him and teach him an important lesson. The wind came, the earthquakes came, and the fires came but the Lord was not in them. Then the still small voice came, and Elijah heard it, got comfort and was prepared to do what the Lord wanted him to do.

Sometimes we can be so sure in our beliefs that we are willing to do anything for them. In fact it can seem that our faith is unshakeable. But things start to change, we age our health decines, tragedy strikes, we find ourselves alone, we lose our jobs, our confidence is undermined, we become worried about the future, and what we once thought as sure suddenly feels very distant.  In these moments it can feel like the Lord has abandoned us that he is done with blessing us, we have been cast aside and passed over for the rising generation, not much use anymore. Winds, earthquakes and fires may also come and in these big events we still can’t feel the Lord. Yet in the still small voice we can be renewed, in His small presence we can be revisited, restored to ourselves once more and even elevated to greater faith and dedication.

It is these moments, gethsemane moments, that we grow the most, transform from caterpillar to butterfly, and become all that we are destined to become.

Elijah hides in a cave on Mt Horeb

Judgment: 1 Kings 3:16-28

We all have to make judgment calls several times every single day. Improving your choices improves your life.

Solomon was known for his great wisdom. His petition to the Lord for an understanding heart, was answered with a great blessing. And his discernment in dealing with the two Harlots cemented his ability before the people.

Why was this judgment so defining? It was simple, it didn’t over complicate the issue. It got the parties involved to reveal themselves, showing that the motives of the parties were imperative to addressing the real problem. It didn’t even matter who was the biological mother, the one who cared about the child would be the right mother. Also the fact that they were Harlots was irrelevant; Solomon treated them both with respect and compassion.  After this call, all Israel could take heart that, no matter their position they could get access to justice.

I have pondered judgment a lot. What makes a good decision? How can I make better ones?

While I am constantly surprised how often I can get it wrong, some principles have helped me be better in this area.

Be careful how you judge. Your judgment is only as good as your information and when your information changes so too might your judgment.

Along with this thought it is handy to give yourself a way out if it happens that you have got it wrong. Always give yourself and others the opportunity to change (humor is good for this).

When emotions are high – reason is low

Decisions charged with lots of emotion are not likely to be well thought out. Delay an important decision if you can, till you can distance yourself from any strong feelings. Recognize that when others are highly emotional they are likely to also react rather than act.

HALT (Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired)

Since emotions play such a large part in decision making. Realize your ability can be impaired by how you feel.  If you are anxious, address a basic need like those of HALT to bring you back to a place of balance.

Like Solomon we would do well to ask God for an understanding heart. If we can break down the fears of others and ourselves we will be in a much better position to address the real needs and truly bless all whom we come into contact with.

Solomon judges between two harlots

Don’t be a vigilante! 2 Samuel chapter 13

The most destructive behavior we can do is the stuff we can easily justify. When someone does something terrible to us or especially to someone we love, we can be guilty of some of the most heinous crimes and uncompassionate thoughts without even batting an eyelid. Sometimes these acts can even be applauded by those around us, further cementing the delusion that we are in the right.

When Tamar was abused, it was a horrific crime, one unfortunately that is all too common today. But Absalom killing her attacker was worse not just because it broke the 6^th commandment but because it was in retaliation. When revenge is the motive we blind ourselves to the crime. Cries of ‘He got want he deserved’ which echo around this story, make us feel like we are the hero when in reality we have just become the villain.

I am as guilty of this as the next person, I love movies involving revenge, and Hollywood has convinced me that it is imperative to our sense of right and wrong that the bad guy always gets 'it' in the end! Even in our compassionate gospel narrative we long for the justice part for everyone else – while anticipating the mercy part for ourselves.

Being a vigilante is often hard to see because we mask it in so much perceived justification.  We retell our story with such self righteousness that we convince ourselves that we are acting with the best intentions. In the process we make vigilantes of those around us, as others take up the cause on our behalf.

The most common form of vigilantism is gossip, - the deliberate telling of an event to highlight wrong, insight distrust or destroy confidence. We may unwittingly cause great harm as other trust our bias take on the situation.

One of the most public vigilante acts of our time is the assassination of Osama Bin Laden.  People danced in the streets, hugged loved ones, waved flags and proclaimed ‘He got what he deserved’. Only a small voice said – ‘where is the trial? Where is the jury? – this was public sanctioned murder, we have let our fear take over our reason yet again’.

So how do we stop? First we need to catch ourselves…. If we say or think ‘(s)he’ll get what (s)he deserves’ we are already on the way to being a vigilante. Second ask the question ‘what am I afraid of’, fear that justice will not be met is the basis for revenge. Third pray for better understanding and courage to act with love. Fourth trust the rest to the Lord.

Tamar is assalted by her half brother and then thrown out.

Who is the Villain? 2 Samuel chapter 12

The Old Testament is often a roller coaster of drama. One moment the people are up next they are down, the lines between Hero and Villain get very blurred. David appeared to be Israel’s savior and yet he ended up being part of their problem. When Nathan the prophet challenged  his perspective David understood himself as the villain.

David is not alone, whether it is presidents, sporting fixtures, celebrities, community leaders, teachers, or our own family - we have plenty of examples of fallen stars.

While we respond to the ideas of Hero’s and Villain’s in our just and ordered world, it is never quite that simple. This ‘us and them’ mentality is not reality. We are all children of God, we are all here to learn and we all get things wrong. We have a tendency to minimize our mistakes and maximize others, to write our story as just and theirs as unjust, in the process justifying our behavior no matter how terrible or unfair.

But finding out you are the villain is often the best thing that can happen to you, especially if you realize it before you do something really dumb. Understanding the fact that you are the villain can free you to really love, and work in partnership with the Lord. It will make way for mercy to overcome the demands of justice, rescue you from yourself, and ironically make you the conquering hero after all.

While David’s sin was almost the worse it could be, he spent the rest of his life striped of pride, begging for forgiveness, and doing all he could to rectify his mistake and the ramifications of his actions. He would need the Lord – so do we all.

Nathan helps David realize his need for repentance.