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At this moment I am acquainted with …
*A brother whose wife has born a child from an adulterous union. They are trying to put their marriage back together.
*A well-known preaching brother who has publicly acknowledged an inappropriate relationship with a younger woman.
*A former preacher who is awaiting trial on charges of child molestation.
*A preacher who is now affiliated with the Baptist Church.
*A preacher friend who has battled cancer and a near fatal stroke for several years only to learn he is now terminal.
*An elder who is awaiting serious surgery on a tumor.
*A sister who suddenly lost her 27 year old son to diabetes.
What is going on here? Is this a sign of the apocalypse?
Actually, what’s going on is … life. These episodes are tragic, yes, but nothing out of the ordinary. You can probably make a similar list to mine.
Some trials are self-inflicted wounds which resemble the titan arum – more commonly known as the corpse flower – which blooms every 7-10 years with the fragrance of a rotting cadaver. When longstanding, unresolved weakness mixes with the right catalyst, it can suddenly come to a head and spew its poison everywhere. As Moses warned the trans-Jordan tribes who promised to return and help conquer the land, “But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find you out” (Num 32:23). It always does.
But most of the time our travails in this world are merely circumstantial: “The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all” (Ecc 9:11). None of us is immune to the troubles of life, but God uses even these to forge our faith, purge the dross and focus our minds on Him and what really matters.
If you are presently at peace, by all means enjoy it. Thank God for your solid marriage, loving children, sound health, stable employment, safe neighborhood, undented car, loyal dog, pumpkin pie and all other of life’s pleasures. But remember, life for some is “like a hell-broth boil and bubble. Double, double toil and trouble” (the witches of Macbeth). And further, our own world could be rocked at any moment.
We can all expect “seasons of distress and grief,” but how we respond to them is the difference between real faith and lip service.
