Held

Suffering is always the odd uncle of our faith. We acknowledge Uncle Charlie but don’t want to welcome him in. He’s the unspoken member of our family gatherings, the fear of pain and embarrassment. We often hope he’ll forget to come to our house.

Such is suffering.

Paul spoke of the privilege of suffering. (Phil 1:29) Jesus left the comforts of the Kingdom to slog around the earth in a human body. He knew the pain of a headache, the twangs of hunger, the fatigue of a midnight prayer vigil. He left paradise behind to suffer.

I know people who have suffered unspeakable agonies. Some blame God and hate him. Others cling to God with a refined faith.

Paul makes an unfathomable proclamation later in his letter to Philippi: Rejoice always! I want to add, except during suffering, of course.

But it is in the fire where the gold is refined. It is by pressure that a diamond is formed.

In the suffering, we face our own frailties. There is a ragged transparency in pain.

I found a song this week by Natalie Grant, entitled Held. We rage against the reasons for suffering, but we can turn to the who in suffering. Here’s the chorus:

This is what it means to be held.
How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive.
This is what it is to be loved.
And to know that the promise was
When everything fell we’d be held.

This hand is bitterness.
We want to taste it, let the hatred numb our sorrow.
The wise hand opens slowly to lilies of the valley and tomorrow.

If hope is born of suffering.
If this is only the beginning.
Can we not wait for one hour watching for our Savior?