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
No comments:
Post a Comment