Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. ~ Psalm 139:7-10
God does not promise prosperity nor that things will always go our way. He does not promise that we will always have smooth or quiet days. God promises us something we don’t always realize we need: his presence. He gives us the gift of himself. He reminds us that in our pain that he knew pain first. And he chose it.
We do not choose our hardships. But Christ chose hardship, pain, and suffering because of his love for us. Elisabeth Elliot writes “Yet I have come to understand even suffering, through the transforming power of the Cross, as a gift, for in this broken world, in our sorrow, He gives us Himself; in our loneliness, He comes to meet us, as in George Matheson’s hymn, He came as the Love that would never let him go.”* I think she is right. In our darkest moments, we don’t long for people to tell us it will be better some far off day. We want someone to sit in the dust with us and weep.
Yes, heaven rewards us (Rev 21:1-4). Yes, God can work all things for good (Romans 8:28). Yes, we may be able to comfort others as we ourselves have been comforted (2 Cor 1:3-7).
But, in the midst of our suffering, God gives us the gift of Himself, fully present, listening, attentive and full of compassion. And when there is no earthly solution but “acceptance” for a trial, having someone sit with us in our pain is truly a gift. Isaiah describes God’s presence eloquently:
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you. ~ Isaiah 43:2
That little word “when” is so powerful. He does not tell us “if” we pass through waters. He knows our life. He knows we will be swept through those torrents. But He walks with us, steadies us, holds tight to us, even as the waves break over our heads. David, too, recognizes this truth:
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me. ~ Psalm 23:4
It is not the taking away of his sorrow that comforts him – it is the fact that God is with him in it. And God is unique in that He can be with us, every moment, every step through that dark valley. Even the best of our human friends cannot do such. In their humanity, they fall short. But God gives us the gift of his beautiful, holy, radiant presence, every step of the way until we reach home.
*Path to Loneliness by Elizabeth Elliot
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