That is to say, when circumstances go radically off-script. The scripts we write for ourselves.<\/p>\n
I have a friend who has been making some breakthroughs in her chosen field of writing, and has just been diagnosed with breast cancer, tearing her world apart. Another friend has made a place for herself after a hard road, or several of them, early in life; and now is at the top of her chosen field. Yet she is under attack, and will suffer, from intrigues and corporate politics \u2013 as old as human nature, a fact that never makes the devastation any easier. Another friend has been involved in ministries and charities for years, and now is virtually destitute, feeling hopeless. <\/p>\n
\u201cTempted and tried, how often we question Why we must suffer year after year, Being accused by those of our loved ones, E\u2019en though we\u2019ve walked in God\u2019s holy fear.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n We accept the fact that bad things happen to good people: Are we being tested? We remind ourselves, sometimes grasping for straws, that Job was tested, too. In that eponymous book, the oldest of all the books in the Bible, we are told that Satan accused Job and taunted God, saying, \u201cHe doesn\u2019t love You; he just loves Your blessings.\u201d Without knowing it, Job issued a challenge to our own faith with such an argument \u2013 an encouragement to seize upon what was later written: \u201cI can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.\u201d <\/p>\n Job ultimately answered, \u201cThough He slay me, I will put my trust in Him,\u201d the Lord God. <\/p>\n But yet \u2013 I know this; we all do \u2013 the crud of life is still crud. To my friend dealing with the worst cancer news, what can I say, what can any of us say? Of course we pray for healing. Of course we trust God\u2019s mysterious ways. Of course we try to believe that some \u201cgreater good\u201d will be served. But. BUT\u2026 <\/p>\n \u201cTempted and tried, we\u2019re oft made to wonder Why it should be thus all the day long; While there are others living about us, Never molested, though in the wrong.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n I recently wrote to a friend that God never promised a detour from the Valley of the Shadow of Death, only that He would BE with us when we have to walk through it. There is sin in the world \u2013 besides the sins we commit that contribute to our problems \u2013 and we simply are assigned the task of dealing with those consequences. Planning against pitfalls, battling disease, fighting corruption, deflecting hatred, protecting the weak, comforting the sick, and\u2026 loving. And loving. And loving.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes I wonder why I must suffer, Go in the rain, the cold, and the snow; When there are many living in comfort, Giving no heed to all I can do.\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n The mysteries of God \u2013 why, indeed, some of the unrighteous might enjoy material comforts; or how forgiving others can bring forgiveness to our own souls, those kinds of mysteries \u2013 are not to be understood now. The friend to whom I wrote about the Valley was once at the lowest of low points in her life, an alcoholic. Now that she has magnificently overcome, she admits that she might have gone through those horrors so that she can now be a better witness, counselor, friend to uncountable others. She gained a genuine voice after walking a difficult road but now is in a serene place, rescuing other lives. God\u2019s way? Maybe.<\/p>\n \u201cFarther along we\u2019ll know more about it, Farther along we\u2019ll understand why; Cheer up, my brother, live in the sunshine, We\u2019ll understand it all by and by.\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n This chorus, true as it is, does not promise that we will understand life\u2019s cruelties and God\u2019s mysteries, and blessings, after a few more prayers. Or more Bible study. Or another sermon message. Or reading a few more blogs. \u201cBy and by\u201d refers to Glory: Heaven.<\/p>\n In Heaven we will not know all<\/em> things \u2013 that would make us like God. But we will understand better, by and by. Can we suffer less by loving God more\u2026 by yearning for Heaven more? Yes \u2013 another mystery, a comforting mystery. As Joni Eareckson Tada, well acquainted with mortal distress, as a quadriplegic in constant pain, and recently afflicted with breast cancer, proclaimed, \u201cGod permits what He hates, to accomplish what He loves.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFaithful till death, says our loving Master; Short is our time to labor and wait; Then will our toiling seem to be nothing, When we shall pass the heavenly gate. \/ When we see Jesus coming in glory, When He comes from His home in the sky, Then we shall meet Him in that bright mansion; We\u2019ll understand it, all by and by.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n + + +<\/p>\n Joni has been in the news because she sang the title song for the Christian-themed movie \u201cAlone Yet Not Alone,\u201d which, amid controversy, was pulled from Oscar consideration recently, after receiving a prestigious nomination. Here she offers great testimony and the comforting old song \u201cFarther Along,\u201d with Homecoming friends, legendary gospel singers. Affirmation and a second chorus by Vestal Goodman. I once had the privilege of interviewing Joni at Billy Graham\u2019s retreat center, the Cove. She spoke at length of her trials, and she sang, as here. Some day I will share that video in the Monday Ministry blog. (Also present that day were Cliff Barrows, George Beverly Shea, and Joni\u2019s mom; see photo.)<\/p>\n![\"Martin](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mondayministry.com\/images\/rick-joni.jpg?resize=420%2C238\" "\\"Rick")
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