Praying for Present and Eternal Comfort for Japan

Heartbreaking.

All of us watched in horror as scenes of tragedy in Japan unfolded this past week. Technology may bring suffering into our living rooms but it does little to help us grapple with the reality of people dying and a nation suffering. Most of us with a sense of helplessness. In fact, our limited capacity to help against the backdrop of such immense suffering can lead us beyond helplessness to hopelessness.

With that in mind, here are a few thoughts that I've found helpful -

Suffering is inevitable... but it is not arbitrary or purposeless. We can't always understand it but God is neither absent in suffering nor unaffected by it. Instead, God is at work to draw sufferers to Himself and to bring comfort to those who call on Him.

"...call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you and your will glorify me" (Psalm 50:15)

Suffering is great... but our compassion is meaningful. Through the common grace of technology, God grants us the privilege to help those who are suffering across the world. Though our efforts may seem small, yet by extending practical help to those who cannot help themselves, we become channels of God's compassion.

Suffering calls us to prayer. We can do nothing greater than to pray for the people of Japan. We can bring their needs before the throne of God. We can pray for present comfort for all who are suffering - for mothers who mourn for lost children, for children orphaned by this tragedy, for those maimed and injured, for the hundreds of thousands who have lost homes.

We can also pray for the eternal comfort for those in Japan who do not know Jesus Christ. C.S. Lewis is quoted as saying "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world". Oh, that this tragedy would awaken in them a longing for the eternal God. Here is a prayer for Japan from the Desiring God blog that could serve you in your prayers for this nation -

Father in heaven, you are the absolute Sovereign over the shaking of the earth, the rising of the sea, and the raging of the waves. We tremble at your power and bow before your unsearchable judgments and inscrutable ways. We cover our faces and kiss your omnipotent hand. We fall helpless to the floor in prayer and feel how fragile the very ground is beneath our knees.

O God, we humble ourselves under your holy majesty and repent. In a moment—in the twinkling of an eye—we too could be swept away. We are not more deserving of firm ground than our fellowmen in Japan. We too are flesh. We have bodies and homes and cars and family and precious places. We know that if we were treated according to our sins, who could stand? All of it would be gone in a moment. So in this dark hour we turn against our sins, not against you.

And we cry for mercy for Japan. Mercy, Father. Not for what they or we deserve. But mercy.

Read the rest of the prayer here

Quote of the Week

"Be sure that the ins and outs of your individuality are no mystery to Him; and one day they will no longer be a mystery to you."

C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain, p. 151

Quote of the Week

"Christians are called to be exiles from the world, however personally painful that exile may be. they are supposed to be aliens to the world's darkness as they seek another city, "whose builder and maker is God" (Heb. 11:10)."

David F. Wells, God in the Wasteland: The Reality of Truth in a World of Fading Dreams, p.41

Quote of the Week

"The only way Jesus will save himself, and save his people, is by hanging on that wretched cross, in utter powerlessness. The words the mockers use to hurl insults and condescending sneers actually describe what is bringing about the salvation of the Lord.

The man who is utterly powerless - is powerful."

D.A. Carson, Scandalous: The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus, p. 24

Quote of the Week

"God works strangely. He brings order out of confusion, harmony out of discord... God often helps when there is least hope, and saves His people in the way that they think will destroy.... God's ways are past finding out (Rom 11:33). They are rather to be admired than to be fathomed"

Thomas Watson, All Things for Good, p. 60

No King is Saved By His Great Army

The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue.

Psalm 33:16-17

Trials and obstacles are part and parcel of living in this fallen world. These days it can seem like bad news is lurking just round the corner - widespread financial collapse, rising unemployment, H1N1 virus, turmoil in the Middle East, etc... Maybe your concerns are much closer to home - perhaps you're concerned about holding on to your job or you have mounting personal debt or you're dealing with a chronic illness in your family.

In times like these, it's easy to locate our confidence in the wrong place. Perhaps Psalm 33 was written in response to such mounting pressure. If you're fighting a battle, it makes all the sense in the world to put your confidence in the size and abilities of your army. It wouldn't seem altogether unreasonable to hope in the battle tested assets that might secure victory.

Yet, the Psalmist reminds himself and us of the folly of such thinking. Despite conventional wisdom, no king is saved by such things. He looked beyond the means of salvation to the source of salvation - the LORD, the eternal God who is able and willing to rescue those who fear Him.

Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love,
that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.

Psalm 33:18-19

When you encounter the next trial or challenge - whether at work or at home, whether great or small, where do you plan to locate your hope?

What's the One Thing You Want in Times of Trouble?

Life in this fallen world is messy - jobs are lost, family members become ill, projects fall behind schedule, etc.   Even as Christians, we contend with trouble everyday.    Perhaps you're one of the many who've lost their jobs in this economic depression.  Maybe you still have a job but it's fraught with difficulties and difficult people.   Or perhaps you might be battling a long standing illness.    

Sometimes the problems of life come upon us so unexpectedly that they can overwhelm us.   All we can think of in those times is our need for relief.  How do we contend with these and other challenges in light of God's active presence in our lives?   According to Psalm 27,  David faced many difficulties.   He contended with serious enemies who threatened his very life.   

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?

The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh,

my adversaries and my foes, it is they who stumble and fall

Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear;

though war arise against me, yet I will be confident

Psalm 27:1-3

Under such pressure, what did David pray for?   What is the one thing he asked of God?  Not deliverance from his enemies, nor for his own personal safety.   Not for an unbeatable battle plan, nor the destruction of his enemies.

One thing have I asked of the LORD that will I seek after

that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,

to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple

Psalm 27:4

Instead, David desired the nearness of God.  For David, to inquire before the presence of God was far better than a winning strategy.   If we have one thing to ask of God, what shall we ask for?   If we have deadlines to meet and troubles of every kind looming on the horizon, where are we going to find relief?   Where will we find peace and satisfaction?

Speaking Good News in Financial Turmoil

This week was an especially tough one on Wall Street. The demise of Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and AIG headlined news for most of the week. Even if you don't make your living in the financial industry, you'll feel the effects of its turmoil. Your nest egg might look just a little smaller this week or perhaps your company might be cutting back spending. If you're looking for a new job, it might seem just a little harder going. Or maybe you're doing just fine but your neighbors aren't.

How do you deal with tough financial problems? What tempations do you experience in such times?

Anxiety, perhaps? It's not uncommon for some of us to be tempted in this area. In the midst of mounting bills without corresponding income, we can be tempted to anxiety. How we can sustain such financial drain, we wonder?

How about unbelief? I remember when I was out of work in 2001. It was the post dot-com bubble era - it seemed like companies were shutting down every week and employees were being laid off daily. After several months of not finding work, I began to wonder if I'd ever get another job again!

A couple of weeks ago, I heard a message on Sunday by CJ Mahaney about how many of our struggles stem from spending much of our time listening to ourselves, instead of speaking to ourselves. Sounds a little confusing, doesn't it? The point of the message is that we spend much of our time, listening to our own negative, sinful thoughts -anxiety, unbelief, anger, etc... instead of actively speaking God's truth and promises to our own souls.

Here's how it might be applied in times of personal financial turmoil - instead of passively listening to our own thoughts of anxiety ("we'll get crushed by this mounting bills") or unbelief ("I'll never find a job"), we can actively proclaim to our own souls, God's unfailing promise to provide what we need -

"Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Matthew 6:31-32

or

"Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing." Psalm 34:8-10

Speaking good news - that's what we need in the midst of any turmoil.

Modern Day Slavery

Sadly, slavery is alive and well in our fallen world. Last night, we attended the annual fund raising dinner for Jubilee Campaign, a non-profit organization focused on helping persecuted Christians and children at risk around the world. During the dinner, we heard from speakers who drew attention to the ongoing atrocity of modern day slavery - much of it affecting children and young women.


Here are some facts about slavery, more commonly referred to as human trafficking (Research: Four Square Church) -

• An estimated 27 million people are held in slavery worldwide, meaning there are more slaves in the world than were taken from Africa during 300 years of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
• Annually between 700,000 and 4 million people are bought and sold as prostitutes, sex slaves, domestic workers, child laborers and child soldiers. This includes children as young as 4.
• Each year, more than 1 million children are exploited in the global commercial sex trade.
• In India, 45,000 children go missing every year
• The U.S Department of State estimates that by 2010, human trafficking will be the #1 crime worldwide.

This atrocity is a stark expression of what humanity looks like, separated from God. Better education doesn't solve this, nor will money alone make this go away. We desperately need a Savior.

For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.

Titus 3:3-6

What's required is the gospel, actively preached and lived in the darkest recesses of this world. Jubilee Campaign is waging war against the tide of wickedness by shining the light of the gospel into the darkness of slavery. Together with in-country partners, they rescue children from brothels, care for orphans and share the love of Christ in practical ways.

I'm grateful for their work and glad to support them.

Grief and Hope

Last week was filled with grief for many directly affected by the Virginia Tech shooting. But sooner or later, suffering and loss is something we will all have to deal with.

In God's providence, the recent April TableTalk issue was on the topic of grief. Ligonier Ministries has kindly made the content available as a means of God's help to those coping with loss.

There are a number of wonderful articles offering a biblical perspective on grief but the one that spoke to me was by Jim Coffield entitled From Grief to Glory. In the article, he asserts that how we deal with grief and loss reveals our core belief about God's nature and our own heart.

He makes several great points in the article about dealing with grief in our lives -

1. Loss is inevitable.

While we live in this present age, loss is inevitable... No one is exempt. Although the degree and level of suffering and loss may be dissimilar, we all will experience loss, and we will have to face the realities of grief.

He asks a vitally pertinent question - what do we do with our grief?

What do we do with our pain?... If we are honest, we will admit we often try to make a deal with God concerning loss: "I will follow you but make sure my kids turn out ok. I will follow you but I want to earn your blessing."

Coffield tells us that this kind of thinking is wrong since it attempts to relate to God on the basis of our efforts to earn His blessing.

God has revealed that we already have all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ...we should live out of this fullness because our greatest loss, our relationship with God, was forever addressed on the cross. We are not alone and our Father will never leave us.

2. God is Aware of Our Losses.

Coffield asks the question we want to know but may be too afraid to ask - in the midst of our loss, does God care?

Scripture is clear that Jesus is intimately aware of the cries of his children. Jesus weeps of Jerusalem and Lazarus' tomb....The most obvious display of his concern for the effects of sin and loss in our lives is His coming and sacrifice for us on the cross.

His point serves to remind us that the cross is the definitive statement that God loves us and cares for us, even when we are in the midst of suffering and grief.

3. How Should We Grieve?

Coffield makes the point that Jesus invites us to grieve with Him, to come to Him in our grief and suffering. Yet, we often suppress our grief as a means of coping rather than facing our grief. In doing so, we may miss the opportunity to approach God and receive the kind of comfort that only He can bring.

"Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted". Most of us, however, refuse to mourn and grieve. We refuse to mourn because we cannot wrap our finite minds around the despair and hope that live in loss... God is inviting us to face the significant and debilitating losses of our lives by resting in His arms...God invites us to trust him, to depend upon him. Jesus says "Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest."



Artwork copyright JR Bell (Used with permission)

Tragedy at Virginia Tech

By now, we all know - the tragic shooting at Virginia Tech this morning has left as many as 33 dead, including the gunman. Some have called it the deadliest shooting in modern US history. For the friends and family of the deceased, it's an especially a sad day. May the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, comfort them in their grief and trouble.

Even for the rest of us, it is difficult not to be affected by such tragedy and senseless killing. It's a harsh reminder that we live in a fallen world, tainted by our rebellion against God. How can we make sense of this? I suggest reading this perspective on the Virginia Tech shooting from the Desiring God blog. It offers a view on how to care for those in suffering as well as a biblical perspective on suffering, evil and God's sovereignty.

Another good reference point on how to speak about this tragedy with non-Christians is the speech by Tim Keller, delivered at the 9/11 remembrance service last year in NYC. Great takeaways on how to identify with suffering (as we rightly should) and yet introduce the hope of the gospel.