Dear Missionary Lady,
Greetings in the name of our great loving God. Thank God for
human examples of love, but not one of those can compare with the love of God.
Recently I have been pondering the human-divine relationship.
I don’t think I am the only one to perceive that the relationship with God has
some ebb and flow, just as human relationships do. That troubled me a bit.
After all, shouldn’t our relationship with God be always special, always
abundant, always overflowing? How could it not be, since God is who He is?
Would not the fault for any dullness or “ordinary-ness” then rest with us?
The answer to that question is more complex than I can easily
explain, and I think some of the explanation (beyond our human failures) lies
in God’s varying purposes and focused sanctification at different times in our
lives. But this week I was encouraged in remembering that God compares His
relationship with us to that of a husband and wife, a relationship that also is
not static.
I have heard it said many times that marriage is more than
just romance, that it is a lot of hard work. Sometimes it is just slogging
along down in the trenches, caught up in the mundane necessities and challenges
of life. I can only speak from observation and second-hand reports, but I
thought of three specific marriage situations that could seem dull and
disappointing, each of which could have spiritual parallels.
First, the demanding years of young children. Days are
filled with diapers and dishes, laundry and cleaning, homework and events. The
demands are constant, never seeming to be met long enough for one to breathe or
think. A faithful spouse, weighed down by tasks of his own, will have the
mindset that “we are in this together.” He will remain committed through the
practical demands that, of necessity, are part of the marriage both agreed to.
So each one does his or her part, living out the practical ramifications of the
commitment.
Just as this impacts the couple’s special times together, it
also has an impact on special time with God. A careful Christian will seek some
way to make something happen, but this stage of life will not be the same as
what was possible in the past and what might be possible again in the future.
What remains constant is the commitment. God remains faithful, committed, and
loving during the busy seasons of life.
Think of David when he was a fugitive, constantly on the
run. Eight years of exile, trying to find food and provide protection for six
hundred men. From his base in Ziklag, David went out conquering enemies (I
Samuel 27), only to return one day to find his city destroyed and the women
captured (ch. 30). In this crazy season of life, God still faithfully loved and
guided David. God still cared for him in the midst of his responsibilities and
burdens (30:8,23). Incidentally, David still worshipped, encouraged himself in
God, and wrote psalms during this hectic time, but surely it looked different
from his time in the pasture with the sheep.
Second, the overwhelming obligations of ministry. You watch
the children while he runs to a men’s meeting. You teach the ladies while he counsels.
You plan events, prepare the building, and produce materials, while he plans goals,
prepares sermons, and produces disciples. Much work is being accomplished for
God, but you feel like two ships passing in the night. A committed couple will
do what they can do guard their relationship while working toward their shared
ministry goals, but there are God-ordained seasons of growth that are so
demanding that they limit personal time.
These seasons too can have spiritual impact. Being busy in
God’s work is important, but it requires strength of spirit that comes from
time with God. Thankfully, as God stretches us, He also faithfully sustains us,
maybe through ways that are different from what we have seen in the past.
Think of Moses. He was sometimes so busy in ministry that he
didn’t have time to turn around (Exodus 18:13-18). The people were sometimes so
difficult that Moses was at his absolute end. He was responsible not for just
600 men, but for 600,000 men, plus families! Was Moses busy in ministry? In the
midst of a job far too big for any man to do, God “spake unto Moses face to
face, as a man speaketh unto his friend” (Ex. 33:11). He assured Moses that he
had found grace in His sight and that He would go with him in the remaining
journey (33:14-17). While the time available for interaction was far different
from Moses’ forty days on the mountaintop with God, God still found a way to
sustain Moses, and Moses still cried out to God for the help he desperately
needed.
Third, the debilitating seasons of illness. They come to
nearly every couple at some point. Sometimes for periods of days or weeks,
sometimes for months or years. For most couples, there will come a time when
one becomes caretaker for the other. Both physical weakness and time-consuming
care change the roles and interactions that existed at other times in the marriage.
A loving spouse faithfully honors his or her vows “in sickness and in health.”
Illness certainly impacts one’s interactions with God as
well. A short illness, featuring a few days crashed on the couch, barely able to
function, may not have significant spiritual impact. What about when that lasts
for years and when the body and mind are increasingly dulled? When you are too fatigued
to rub two thoughts together, and prayer turns to sleep in moments? Then, too,
a faithful and understanding God is near.
Think of Elijah. He was an old man, nearing the end of his
ministry. He had just done intense spiritual battle on Mount Carmel, before
running a marathon in the rain, when he heard of Jezebel’s threat. He ran again
(I Kings 19) and found himself so weary that he wanted to die. God intervened
by providing sleep, food, and water for Elijah’s struggling body. Then God gave
Elijah a message and guidance. Elijah wasn’t doing so well spiritually when his
body was so weak, and this must have been a very different time from when he
rested by the brook or stayed with the widow. Nevertheless, God met Elijah where
he was and patiently led him along. (Job also struggled to interact with God
and to think properly during his illness.) Elijah slept and ate as God
instructed and then continued obeying what God set before him.
What do we do when we face these challenging seasons of
life? When it may seem that our relationship with God is less vibrant than it
has been in the past? We do what these men did. We do what we can to pursue
worship, encouragement in God, prayers for help, obedience. But mostly we lean
on God who is faithful, committed, loving, compassionate, comforting, and
always present. We trust Him to carry us through the intense seasons just as He
has always done in the past. God’s faithfulness does not change. God’s love
does not change. God’s presence does not cease. He knows the weakness of our
frame, and He knows the purposes that He is accomplishing during these times.
Seek, trust, rest.
Love in Christ,
Peggy Holt
member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA
