No Whining, Please

I heard a good speaker, maybe you know her. Her name is Jennifer Rothschild, who is blind, by the way, and she spoke from the Book of “Lamentations".  I call that the “clean part” of my Bible, since I so seldom go there. 

What she had to say resonated with me.  She went to great lengths to explain the difference between "Lamenting" and "Complaining", explaining that lamentable things happen over which we have no control.  She had gone blind from some rare malady when she was just 15.  Then there was Jeremiah the prophet, who had a pretty miserable time his whole life.  And don’t forget King David. We can see through several of his Psalms that he was no stranger to misery.  

Closer to home, I was reminded of a brilliant young man I once knew in Japan.

He had come from Ghana on a scholarship to study Mineralogy at one of Japan’s top universities, and we crossed paths through our student ministry. 

There were several in his group, and I soon learned that they weren't picked for anything but their outstanding intelligence. And even at that, only a few were selected out of the entire country each year.  I was often astounded at their ability to pick up Japanese so easily, which, of course, with my limited ability, didn't make me feel any better!

The thing that immediately stood out to me about this guy was that he was missing the back of his head.  From the crown of his head to his neck, there was only a concave indentation.  It wasn't just a scratch, it was gone...about 3 inches of depth .... missing.

From the front, all you noticed was his smile and his love for God.  But eventually, I just had to ask, "What happened?" 

And his reply told me that he’d experienced this question before.

"When I was about two, in a remote village, somebody found me like this.  No one knows what happened, but I thank God that somebody found me, loved me, and took me to the city. There, they nursed me and found the doctors who could cover me back up with skin, and gave me to a wonderful family to raise me.  Because of their love of both God and me, here am today!”

Things happen.  We don't have to be happy about it, but I think we might be forgiven sometimes when we just can’t rejoice over our situation. Look through the Bible: there are times when it's okay to lament, but let’s never lose sight of the fact that God is with us, and He’s the One Who makes all things beautiful in His time. 

While I realise that the prophet Jeremiah wrote Lamentations while thinking of Israel, there are some things in his words that can be applied to us as well. For example,

“I remember my afflictions and my wandering, the bitterness, and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore, I will wait for him.” The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him" (Lamentations 3:19-25, NIV).

The take away I got from this, is that it's ok to be sad or perturbed, but we must guard against our nature (at least in my case) to digress into complaining and whining.

Perhaps I'm a little sad that this will be our last Sunday in Hawaii. We've had a wonderful and fruitful stay. Next week, we'll be sending the blog out from Los Angeles, where we're looking forward to a little catch up with a lovely missionary girl we had in the dormitory in Liberia about 45 years ago!

And then, the Lord willing, the next week ...... business as usual from our home in Australia.  All of this shlepping around will be tiresome but it's an adventure, which we always enjoy, and it's especially good that we'll be able to uphold our promise to our middle grandson to be home for his birthday.  God is Good!

Today I'd encourage you to think about something in your life that you’d rather not be experiencing.  Not many of us are missing the back of our head, but that pales in comparison to a lot of the things we wake to every morning. Children who have gone astray, financial difficulties, failing bodies, you name it, it's out there.

And if that’s not enough, there’s Israel and the painfully familiar cycle of war and vengeance while surrounded by millions who want them dead. 

I hope things like this spur you on to greater heights in your prayers and in your dedication to reach out to those who so desperately need what God wants to provide. In the process though, resist the temptation to fall into the Slough of Despond. Remember that God doesn’t like what’s happening any more than you do, and in fact is gearing up for that Great Day when he makes all things right again. Until then, no whining, please!

Till next time, Marsha