crisis of faith

I have been reading the blogs and email updates of my friends, and today I came across an update from some friends who are ministering in the Dominican Republic. Drew and Dana Strait are working with children, both natives of the D.R. and Haiti. They reflected a little on the suffering they have seen, and it got me thinking about the suffering going on in the world: Tsunami victims, hurricane victims, starving children, and even our own tragedies and trials. The following is a direct quote from the Straits' email update:

"Dietrich Bonhoeffer shed thoughtful light on God's character and suffering when he said, 'That is why it is good to learn early that suffering and God are not contradictions, but rather a necessary unity. For me, the idea that it is really God who suffers has always been one of the most persuasive teachings of Christianity. I believe that God is closer to suffering than to happiness, and that finding God in this way brings peace and repose and a strong, courageous heart' (Meditations On the Cross).

I was talking to another friend recently about how she had been living in sin, but living very well by the world's standards. Relationship, possessions, career...and then it all began crashing down around her, and even to the point of beginning lose her health. It struck me not how unfair these things seemed, or even that God was punishing her for her lifestyle, but how much God must LOVE her to use such drastic measures to wake her up, to bring her back to His loving arms. We have all heard the argument that atheists pose for their lack of belief: "If there is a loving God, how can He allow such suffering?" But if you look at it from the faith side, from Bonhoeffer's side, it is God who is really suffering. He is the One who is all-seeing and all-knowing; watching the children He loves destroy themselves from the inside out, and constantly settle for less than the blessings and dreams He has for us. We are living "beneath our station" of royalty and children of the King of the Universe. It is suffering that brings dependence and intimacy.

The Word talks a lot about suffering:

"Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. 'Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how.'" Matthew 16:24

"I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself. If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to do it." Phil. 3:10

Aye, and there's the rub! In order to experience the power of resurrection we have to taste the bitterness of death. Death to self, death to idols, death to success the "World's way". And that's where WE THE WORLD have the problem. Some people look at the southern States and think, "What in the world have we done to deserve this? Why is God allowing such a thing?" I am in by no means saying that it is not a tragedy, because it is. People have died without salvation, and it is devastating. Children are orphaned and lost and starving and it's heartbreaking.

But if God is "closer to suffering than happiness", can we look through the eyes of FAITH and wonder, is this God's way of getting closer to us? Is this His way of drawing us into intimacy? Can we think this way and not be offended at the way God has moved? Will this make us walk away or give us "peace and repose and a courageous heart"? Can we forsake all that is 'SAFE' for what is truly GOD?

I pray for the kind of faith that trusts God's sovereignty, even in the face of suffering, no matter what the cost. And I pray for the kind of wisdom that reminds that this world is only a shadow in comparison to an eternity with Jesus.