Creation's Birth Pains

Behold, the LORD makes the earth empty and makes it waste,
Distorts its surface
And scatters abroad its inhabitants...
The earth is violently broken,
The earth is split open,
The earth is shaken exceedingly.
~ Isaiah 24:1,19 (NKJV)

I read Isaiah. I read the headlines. I see Christians and non-Christians alike experiencing unrivaled hardship.

I emerge from the valley of death's shadow and feel darkness licking at my heels. It still wants me.

Was life always this difficult and I never saw it? Or are we nearing the end?

"You will hear of wars and rumors of wars ...
There will be famines and earthquakes ...
All these are the beginning of birth pains...
At that time many will turn away from the faith ...
many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.
Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold."
~ Jesus describing signs of the end (Matthew 24:6-12 NIV)

Is it just me, or do I also observe unrivaled apathy? Have we, as a people, heard about so many disasters and diseases—have our eyes seen too many violent acts and victims—that we have found ways to desensitize ourselves to the pain and thereby also desensitized our love?

Must the Lord then allow the pain to become more intense, lest we either accept the brokenness of our world or believe that we are capable to fix it ourselves?

For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.
~ Romans 8:22-23 (NKJV)

I've birthed five children. I tried an epidural for the first one, but it didn't work correctly and caused far more pain than it relieved, so I didn't try to numb the pain again. I learned to pray through it, taking hold of necessary strength from God.

These are characteristics of birth pains: they get horrifically worse, you don't get out of them except by going through them, and they do end—with the most intense exhilaration life offers.

God's Word says the same of the birth pangs we share with creation. Efforts to mitigate suffering ultimately prove futile. We emerge not by running away, but by pushing through to promised joy and peace.

You will keep in perfect peace, The one fixed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
Trust in the LORD forever,
For in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength
[Rock of Ages].
~ Isaiah 26:3-4

Lord, whatever lies ahead, in our world or in our lives, we know we can persevere with the strength You supply. We trust You not to leave us. We look to You to preserve us in peace.

: : :

This is the "rest of the story" connected to my testimony of gratitude posted at Everyday Testimonies.

Comments, questions, and respectful disagreement are welcome. Reply to BuildingHisBody.com comments, or e-mail buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2011, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
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Broken Inside

Lord, there are mornings when I come before You and feel too small and broken to know what to give You.

I am reminded that this is all You ask.

And so I give You myself, small and broken. And I say "Thank You for the cross," knowing it cannot be said too many times.



Jesus Christ, I think upon Your sacrifice
You became nothing
Poured out to death
Many times, I've wondered at Your gift of life
I'm in that place once again
I'm in that place once again

And once again I look upon the cross where You died
I'm humbled by Your mercy and I'm broken inside
Once again I thank You,
Once again I pour out my life

Now You are exhalted to the highest place
King of the Heavens, where one day I'll bow
But for now, I'll marvel at Your saving grace
I'm full of praise once again
Oh I'm full of praise once again

And once again I look upon the cross where You died
I'm humbled by Your mercy and I'm broken inside
Once again I thank You
Once again I pour out my life

Thank You for the cross
Thank You for the cross
Thank You for the cross, my friend

And once again I look upon the cross where You died
I'm humbled by Your mercy and I'm broken inside
Once again I thank You
Once again I pour out my life

Lyrics "Once Again" by Matt Redman & Tim Hughes © 1996 Thankyou Music

Finding Peace

"Although the world is full of suffering,
it is also full of the overcoming of it."
~ Helen Keller

Finding Peace

Is it not You, O God, who cast us off?
... Give us help from trouble,
For the help of man is useless.
Through God we will do valiantly,
For it is He who shall tread down our enemies.
~ Psalms 108:11-13 (NKJV)

"For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good ..."
~ Mark 14:7 (NKJV)

"I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine of bread, Nor a thirst for water,
But of hearing the words of the LORD...
They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the LORD,
But shall not find it."
~ Amos 8:11-12 (NKJV)

The above photo is of a little girl who caught Kevin Carter's attention with her "soft, high-pitched whimpering" as she collapsed in her struggle toward a food distribution site. Carter won the Pulitzer for the impact his photo carried. But inability to cope with humanity's struggle brought Carter to take his own life.

Yesterday's post ("Troubled") described the haunting affect upon me of this arresting image from the past because it attests to the oppressive evil behind famine and innumerable other atrocities of the present. I struggle to reconcile the celebration of thanks in the contrasting light and shadow of feast and famine.

I understand Carter. Like him, I am overwhelmed by the magnitude of despair. I am not God, and am therefore incapable to effectively respond to every need of which I become aware, however much I want to or try to. Neither dollars nor activism will defeat famine and evil. The help of man is useless.

Carter captured Sudan's plight and broadcast it to the world, then hopelessly collapsed in despair within reach of nourishment. Driven by my hope and love, I see those suffering and am compelled to gently touch them and lead them to the Bread of Life and Living Water. I don't care if they are people of Christ or people of the world, if their affliction is momentary or ongoing, but only that they might be nourished.

Yet relief is insufficient if unsustained. I might briefly uplift people with my words or spirit. I'm always blessed to know I've succeeded. But I've done too little unless the soon-forgotten image from me stimulates hunger for the eternal Word of God and draws them to bask in the Light of the Holy Spirit.

The help of man is useless—unless it is directed and empowered by Almighty God.

Two kinds of famine trouble me. I am sensitive to physical hunger while I celebrate abundance this week—mindful that evil causes the plight pictured above.

I remain resolute to wage war upon the spiritual famine which leads to despair.

Father in Heaven, You are good. You suffer with us the indignity, violence and oppression of precious people You created in Your image. We wait in faith and hope for You to make all things right. We look to You for the place You give us in bringing your light and love to others. Please make our hearts willing and able to do whatever You might ask of us.

Contrasting points-of-view, questions and feedback are invited. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Photo from Snopes.com

Troubled

Today, please scroll slowly, and
read the words before you see the photo.

"If all our misfortunes were laid in one common heap
whence everyone must take an equal portion,
most people would be contented to take their own and depart."
~ Socrates

Troubled

Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
... He turns rivers into a wilderness,
And the watersprings into dry ground;
A fruitful land into barrenness,
For the wickedness of those who dwell in it...
~ Psalms 107:31,33-34 (NKJV)

Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping ... He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.
~ John 11:33 (NKJV)

I don't like to rant. Rant seems too close to complaining. And complaining seems too close to asserting that my life isn't good enough—too close to accusing God that He's either ignorant, uncaring, or impotent.

I've written before about the difference between complaining and groaning. Jesus groaned. The Holy Spirit groans.

Today, I groan, because of an image I saw which has left me unsettled.

I'd had a long, busy morning on Saturday and forgot to eat breakfast. Around noon, hunger became distracting. I grabbed a bowl of yogurt and some cereal. Most of my hunger pangs had faded when I clicked on the blog of Christa Allan. I immediately wished I hadn't eaten when I saw for the first time the photo of a vulture stalking a Sudan famine victim.

If you'd like the full story on this 1994 Pulitzer prize winning-photo by Kevin Carter, click here.

I write this on Monday, after shopping for groceries. Before arriving at aisle after aisle of food, I walked past hundreds of racks and shelves displaying various shoes, clothing and household goods I might need. I meandered through one section the size of my house, gazing upon fresh produce from all over the world. While I waited for a clerk to fetch an item, I rested comfortably at a blood pressure machine which assessed my health as excellent. I slid a piece of plastic through a machine without worry of how to pay for everything desirable to celebrate a feast with my family in expression of thanks to God for the abundance we know.

The entire time, I could shake neither the image of a little girl whose fate is unknown to the world, nor the certainty that God is good and it is right to celebrate it.

The entire time, I fought tears as I struggled to reconcile the two.

Tomorrow: Finding Peace

Contrasting points-of-view, questions and feedback are invited. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

The Sound of My Groaning

"I will love the light for it shows me the way,
yet I will endure the darkness for it shows me the stars."
~ Og Mandino

A Prayer of the Afflicted, When He is Overwhelmed
and Pours Out His Complaint Before the LORD.
Hear my prayer, O LORD, And let my cry come to You...
My heart is stricken and withered like grass,
So that I forget to eat my bread.
Because of the sound of my groaning
My bones cling to my skin...
He looked down from the height of His sanctuary;
From heaven the LORD viewed the earth,
To hear the groaning of the prisoner,
To release those appointed to death.
~ Psalms 102:1,4-5,19-20 (NKJV)

In the beginning was the Word ...
In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
~ John 1:1-4 (NKJV)

The Sound of My Groaning
#encouragement

In being afflicted, overwhelmed, and stricken, what is the sound of groaning?

It is surely different for each of us. To be in such agony of spirit that we forget to eat, to sob with such violence that our ribs cling to our skin, to feel our hearts withered like grass—this about sums it up for me.

Throughout my life, I could not remember a time of being angry at God or thinking Him cruel. I certainly cried out "why" more often than He should have tolerated, but I suppose I accepted that if He is God He must be good and may do as He wishes. (Only inexplicable grace can explain this attitude.)

Then came a time of pain and rejection like none I'd ever known. Like a stormy sea, it buffeted me mercilessly as I rode its waves and clung to faith. I was sustained by the hope of light as I waited for the clouds to clear.

But the relentless storm finally prevailed. I grew weary and felt my hold slip as sorrow billowed over me. I felt the coldness of anger. I succumbed to the cry, "Oh my God, how can You be so cruel?"

As the thought was given the substance of words, its hideous form became instantly apparent and I shrunk back from it with rejection. Faith is the assurance of the unseen, and faith assures me that my God is not cruel. Faith extinguished doubt, I felt the Lord hear my groaning, and release was mine. I quit trying to ride out the storm and slipped into a loving Father's waiting arms. The pain did not stop, but I found His presence and comfort in the midst of the suffering. I hurt, but I did not hurt alone.

So cradled, I found peace in the eye of the storm. In the darkness of night I gazed into His Heaven and saw the glory of stars such as the glory awaiting me. In the Word I found strength to face the storm wall which would pummel me yet again—I gained endurance to face the raging winds of dark clouds until they cleared and the life of light was again mine.

Light is always waiting.

"He is good. Only good."
~ Betsy ten Boom, at Auschwitz concentration camp,
from the biographical movie "The Hiding Place"

Contrasting points-of-view, questions and feedback are invited. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Photo from digg.com

Complaining or Groaning

"We're human beings, not human doings."
~ Doug Spurling

Complaining or Groaning?
#powerofwords

Now when the people complained, it displeased the LORD; for the LORD heard it, and His anger was aroused.
~ Numbers 11:1 (NKJV)

... but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
~ Romans 8:26 (NKJV)

It appears all was going well for the Israelites at this point. No war, no famine—no challenges? Perhaps they took for granted their freedom from harsh bondage, and the Lord’s provision and protection, and started whining about lesser blessings they thought they had coming.

Whatever their circumstances, the people complained without cause, and angered the Lord.

Moses, on the other hand, had a real problem. We aren’t told his tone of voice, but his words seem to complain plenty. (His entire prayer is in Numbers 11:11-15.) He sounds downright accusatory against God:

So Moses said to the LORD, "Why have You afflicted Your servant? ... the burden is too heavy for me. If You treat me like this, please kill me here and now ...!" (Numbers 11:11,15 NKJV)

Yet the Lord responds to Moses' groanings with aid, not rebuke. Moses is so overwhelmed he doesn’t want to go on. And there is something in Moses’ heart which the Lord accepts.

Words do have power. But experts in communication assert that only 7% of what we communicate comes through in words themselves. 38% is in tone of voice, and a whopping 55% is in non-verbal cues such as facial expression and posture.

In prayer, words give substance to our communication—for our sake. God Himself hears the heart. He is not swayed by us saying or doing the right thing. His own heart is moved because we are being in relationship with Him.

Oh Father in Heaven, You know our hearts and understand well that we come to the place of being too spent to pray as we ought. Thank You for sending Your Spirit to bring before Your throne prayers You receive. Please make our hearts one with Your Own.

Contrasting points-of-view, questions and feedback are invited. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.