Tough Enough for the Tough Stuff

By Brenda Black

Meek and mild, loving and kind – that's how many see the Savior of the World. He is long suffering, wishing none to perish. That's a fact. But if He came to only alleviate our discomfort and make us feel all safe and sound, why does pain and loss continue to exist?

God did not send His Son to bring calm to a sinful world. He sent the Messiah to die for sinners and win a revolution against unseen forces of evil. Christ came to conquer death, not just ease our ills. Still, when life gets tough and people continue to suffer, it's hard to trust that God still cares. How can hurting people turn to One who has such power over wind and waves, life and death when bad things happen any way? The answer is not easy. In fact it is filled with pain – torturous, excruciating, hateful, unjust pain. The Man of Sorrows knows about suffering. He endured the heinous sentence of death on a cross. We turn to Him when times get tough because we know He truly understands when this sinful world turns against us.

Isn't that what we need the most when all is lost and hope has faded? We need someone who can empathize with our fragile condition. We long for someone to grasp our anguish without having to explain the rush of emotions, the anxiety and the stress and lonesome, lost feeling that dogs us when we drop exhausted from pain and fear. We need a Savior who's been there.

Day after day, the news reports terrible tragedy in our country. Families are still reeling from spring tornadoes that ripped their world in two. Thousands of acres currently disintegrate as tongues of fire lick up land and homes and lives. What's not twisted or torched may be inundated by flood waters to the north or lying crisp and infertile in the drought stricken South. For the rest of us living in between, inflation and unemployment plague us like hungry locusts. The economic crisis may not be natural, but it is a disaster nonetheless! It's all tough stuff at every turn that calls for tough people in America to keep on keepin' on.

I don't know about you, but this proud American is not strong enough to handle these kind of heart wrenching, gut-twisting trials on my own. I haven't lost my home or a loved one to wind, water or fire like thousands of others in the past couple of months. I have, however, tried to put myself in their shoes and asked myself, “What if?” And “What would I do?”

Every time I ponder the frightening possibility, I get the same answer: “I'd run to Jesus!”

The One who was tough enough to go to the cross, is tender enough to understand deep sorrow. He is tough enough to handle the anger and doubting; kind enough to give the disillusioned time to question. This loving Christ is tough enough to deal with a billion tears and the sobbing from terrible loss; patient enough to wipe each eye, hold the hurting and rock them to sleep with whispers of hope and the promise of healing. My prayer is that those in the paths of destruction run to One so loving. You can make it through unthinkable tragedy with the grace of God.

As I watch faithful people throughout our great nation resign themselves to God's care, I am resolved more to cling to my tough and tender Lord who carries the weight of the world and hears every believer's prayer. God is good and God is able when times are bad and we are desperate. God is tough enough to see us through the toughest tests. Those who lean on Him will find great strength. For nothing is beyond God's might.

“The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic...The voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning. The voice of the Lord shakes the desert;...The voice of the Lord twists the oaks and strips the forests bare. And in his temple all cry, 'Glory!'

“The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever. The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.” (Psalm 29: 3-5, 7-11)

God bless America, her people and her land and help us always remember we never walk through any trial alone when we hold to a nail-scarred, tough and calloused, but loving hand.

When the Rope Won't Hold

When the Rope Won't Hold
By Brenda Black

There is a story about a monastery in Europe perched high on a cliff several hundred feet in the air. The only way to reach the monastery is to be suspended in a basket which is pulled to the top by several monks who heave and tug with all their strength.

Obviously the ride up the steep cliff in that basket is terrifying. A daring tourist braved the trip one time and got exceedingly nervous about half-way up when he noticed that the rope by which he was suspended was quite old and frayed.

With a trembling voice he asked the monk who was riding with him in the basket how often they changed the rope. The monk answered, "Whenever it breaks."

Are you at the end of your rope! Does it look like it won't hold much longer. Can you see the sharp, jagged rocks slicing away each thread of your trusty, once-solid cord. While you fret and grow increasingly hopeless, others seem serenely indifferent, like the monk in the basket. You're each experiencing risk, so what's the difference?

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.

“By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible...

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

“By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” (Hebrews 11:1-3, 6-10)

A monastery on a cliff is not the destination. Beyond the highest apex, on the other side of lofty clouds, heaven waits for the faithful. It's a city not built by human hands and the in-road is not a bouncing, precarious basket ride dangling by a frayed rope. The way to heaven is certainly not easy and there are mountains and valleys and dangers. But the journey's route is well marked by the blood of a Savior who goes ahead and levels the path.

Our trials here drive us onward if we believe such a place exists. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” The rope looks strong even if tattered because “what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”

When times are filled with strife and sorrow, remember, we are beckoned to a reward -- the promised land -- a “city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” Our permanent dwelling is not in this world, but in the one to come.

When Noah saw rain, he built an ark and saved his family rather than sit on the bank sulking. Abraham had a home, but left it to live in a tent. He could have dug in his heels and ignored God's leading, but he would have sacrificed a great inheritance. In their trials, they tested righteous for their obedience and endurance. And most importantly, they were counted as heirs to the throne of heaven for their faith.

Don't lose faith. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything...Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”

Hang on! Heaven's coming!