The loud crack of what sounded like thunder had left a portion of his clothes ripped from his body as he spun out of control. When he finally could shake himself from the moment, he realized that not only were his clothes torn from his flesh, but his flesh was ribboned by whatever heinous devise had encounter his already broken frame. "Life had dealt him a cruel hand in the game of chance", he thought for a moment; but knowing the meticulous details of the human body brought in another thought "There is no game of chance, so how could the Creator with all of His grand plans and design ...just toss away one of His creations like this?" Similar to the closing of a Roman shade, he watched the light in his life fade as darkness lowered its cruel and haunting mysteries.
There seems to be an immense disconnect concerning our relationship with disappointment and pain, and our relationship with God. Somehow there has been an ancient measuring vessel filled with a weight of heavy poisonous lead, that has been used by success driven obsessors, to ostracize and cast aside the broken and suffering since the fall of man. Good health and wealth weigh in heavily because they are nice to have unless they become a mandated proof of a Godly life.
As the so called "successful" create a robustly "blessed" superficial temple life to enshrine this false image, those blinded or beguiled by their own pain and suffering are assured that they are the losers and the failures. The gospel of the wicked Zechariah Ephah proclaims that "true success is manifested by a life that rises above poverty, brokenness, pain and disappointment." It is the life and message of the religious thief and the lying prophet who will swear by the measurement of wickedness. "Sickness and sorrow are evidence of sin and God's judgment, prosperity and health are the signs of a life that pleases God." saith the Thief and the Boaster.
A grateful life that sees the strategic positioning of every day's needs and provisions as a gift from God is a life unshakeable. This "grateful life" is not impressed by "having" and is not depressed by "not having" because it truly finds that "Godliness (taking advantage the eternal gift of a connective walk with God) and contentment (seeing things as a temporal gift of need supply) are great gain. A grateful life realizes that a broken and contrite heart and spirit are the sacrifices of the LORD, and are meant for us to know the nearness, acceptance, and deliverance of God who truly cares for his own.
Psalm 51:17 - The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise."
And when the blinds of pain and suffering began to lift, to his surprise, he was clothed, bandaged and being cared for by the Samaritan Outcast.
Oh to know the tender mercies and care of our God who sees us as His no matter what our social standing or circumstance.
HLFA,
Jeff