In a language as old as time, expressed by the Psalmist and many of the prophets, the cry of the wounded can be heard around the world as their tears drench the earth and their sobs fill the heavens. "What hope is there?" they cry and their pain haunts the hearts of those whom they walk among. Let me introduce you to a few of them. First, he cried, "My grief is BEYOND healing; my heart is BROKEN. Listen to the weeping OF MY PEOPLE; it can be heard ACROSS THE LAND." Another said, "How long, O Lord, must I call for help? But YOU do NOT listen! 'Violence is EVERYWHERE!' I cry, but You do NOT come to save. Must I FOREVER see these evil deeds? Why must I WATCH all this misery? WHEREVER I look, I see destruction AND violence. I am SURROUNDED by people who LOVE TO ARGUE AND FIGHT.'" Another said, "We've dealt with violence in this city before. But I've never seen people shaken as much as after this. Everywhere you go, it's kind of a silence, and I don't think it has worn off." Still another says, "We walked three houses down, he pushed me in between two houses and started to molest me. He turned almost into a different person in seconds. He had a knife on me. He threatened to kill me if I did not do what he wanted, then after slapping me around the whole time, I pretended I was dead or passed out so he would leave." Or the retired police officer who weeps because he no longer holds the equipment or authority that will allow him to exercise the necessary brutality to protect his innocent grandson, whose only words are captured in the silent tear slowing rolling down his face as he ducks his head and says, "I KNOW God is good and He loves me."
What a challenge it is to meditate upon the truth found in Romans 5:20-21, "God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." How do we meditate and internalize such a position in Christ when faced with such wickedness? It is only in the return to the foundations of salvation that such a thing can be accomplished. You see, God sees me the same as He sees the terrorist who flew the plane into the Twin Towers on 9/11. God sees me the same as He sees James Holmes, or Casey Anthony, or even Wade Michael Page. There is no continuum of who does the most sin, to God. In God's eyes, the apostle Paul writes, "For everyone has sinned, we all fall short of God's glorious standard" (Romans 3:23). This sin not only separated us from God, but also made us to be counted as His enemy, for in His holiness He cannot abide in the presence of sin. It is this foundation that makes the gift of His Son Jesus Christ such a precious thing. He made it possible for me to be forgiven for my sins, alleviated the penalty that is associated with sin, and then called me His servant, His friend, and His child! When I realize all that I have in common with those who I perceive to be the worst of people and associate the most with wickedness, then I realize the great miracle of His love and how much I have truly been given to know that I never got what I deserved! This is the hope I have, this is the grace that rules and is abundant, this is the truth I encounter when I approach the thickest of darkness in this world and behold the presence of the living God, even in the face of evil! It is an outrageous love He has given us and a furious grace that pursues us! The beauty I meditate on is the delivery of His tender mercies, disguised as the fresh bouquet of roses blooming outside my front porch. The beauty I meditate on is the delivery of His good thoughts and their great number, pictures in the grains of beach sand laying up and down the eastern coast. The beauty I meditate on is found in the early morning song I hear as I awaken and the birds sit in the trees outside my windows, echoing the love song He sang over me in the night! All of these precious gifts of love, from a Beloved God, whose love I could never earn or possibly begin to return!
Moses approached the "thick darkness," knowing it was the place in which he would find God's holiness and presence. He returned covered in the glory of God. Mary Oliver writes,
Someone I once loved gave me
a box full of darkness.
It took me years to understand
that, this too, was a gift.
Join me as I pray, "Lord, open the eyes of our heart. Enlighten our hearts with understanding of the gift we have been given in the darkness. May our eyes be lifted in expectation and constant anticipation to the hills, knowing that our help comes from YOU! Maker of heaven and earth! Open the ears of our heart, that we may hear and know Your voice. Awaken us with the songs You sing over us in the night watches. Open our hearts with the gentle and skilled touch of Your hands as You hold us near and draw us close in Your arms of love! May we smell the fresh aroma of Your love as You wave Your banner high and wash us in oceans of Your grace, captivated by Your mercy! In Jesus' name--Amen."
On another note~Check out my wonderful sister's precious blog: beyoutifulconviction.blogspot.com about the woman at the dwell, checking the what if's that torment us!
