A couple (the Martins) shared their testimony at Church this morning. For you secular folks, that’s not testifying as in court, but rather their story about what God has done for them. They told of their brokenness and how God is healing that, as well as restoring their marriage. The words accountability and honesty kept coming up as they shared with great transparency what they had been through singly and as a couple. Looking at them, I could never have imagined what their lives were like before, because they look like a regular happily married couple.
You really can’t judge by the outward appearance. No surprise to you, dear reader, because you are SO smart.
Maybe you've been wondering again why God “allows” bad stuff to happen. You’ve heard it said, and I’ve referenced the sentiment in a previous blog. “If there is a God, then why? Blah, blah, blah.” And once again, "All the whys don't make us any wiser." Most of the time bad things happen as the result of my poor choices, but not always. The good news is, no matter what a person has been through, God will use those experiences, albeit painful and destructive, to help others. The Martins are living that out. Freely you have received, freely give. (Matt. 10:8) Who would have thought that one man’s suffering could become valuable currency in the restoration of another? Oh, wait!
Anyway, it got me thinking . . . Jesus has often been called The Great Physician. And Pastor Jack Hayford, in his book about Nehemiah, Rebuilding The Real You, referred to the Holy Spirit as “The Great Psychiatrist.” In light of what I said above, now I think we can call God “The Great Conservative.” Because nothing is wasted in His economy. (Shout out here to Pastor Jack Witt.)I am continually reminded that God uses the worst situations in our lives to the benefit of others. Even the things we’d like to forget. I have found that hiding stuff--my mistakes, my sins--only provides more fodder for the Enemy of us all to hound me. And if my life is an open book, then I can't get insulted if someone mentions my lackluster past. It's kind of "win-win." Please don’t get the wrong idea. If I tell someone, say, how painful it was to watch my husband die of cancer, that isn’t meant to be an and-you-think-you’ve-got-troubles kind of statement. Rather, it provides a point of connection and assurance that the other person isn’t alone in her feelings and thoughts.
I remember when I was going through a particularly dark time in my life, that hearing from another young woman how alone she felt and out of place even in her own family, became a revelation to me that I wasn’t the only person to feel that way. Frankly, it was too scary to even mention, so I'm glad SHE did.
By the way, lest you get your political hackles up, God is also “The Great Liberal,” because He gives liberally of His grace, mercy, forgiveness, healing, love, provision, etc. (e.g. John 1:16, Rom. 3:24, Luke 1:58, Mal. 3:10) One of the cliches of Christian-speak is “You can’t out give God.” Happens to be true. I’m a living, breathing, walking example of that.
In the movie, Joshua, Stacey Edwards’ character says, “My life’s a mess.” She smashes a glass token given to her and Joshua takes the shattered pieces and forms it into something beautiful.It’s a fine representation of how brokenness can be fashioned in the hands of the Almighty to become a new thing. And really, only God can do that. No program or course or psychotherapy can do that, unless He’s the center of it. He can restore life and joy and meaning to a hopeless life. He did it for me. He’ll do it for you.
AMEN!
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