Over the last week of the prayer challenge we have had a lot to grapple with. My wife and I have been discussing the nature of God’s goodness and sovereignty as it relates to the sin, pain, and suffering in the world which is a heavy topic on it’s own. While that was going on, it drudged up some painful memories and the resurgence of frustrations that I thought had passed long ago, leaving me quite upset with people who had hurt my family and I during our travels from 2014-2016. Yet as I was dealing with that, something happened that put things back into perspective.
Earlier this week, a young man from our old church was on his motorcycle when he was hit by a drunk driver. I don’t want to go into too many details because it’s not my place, but his life and his young family’s life will never be the same. I don’t really know him, and I’ve only talked with his wife a few times – truth be told, I’m more friends with her parents – but my heart broke for them. While praying for them and their young son, for the multiple surgeries he’s had to undergo, the pain he’s in, and the months (if not years) of therapy he will have to do I couldn’t help but think of times in my own life over the last few years where God protected my family and I from what could have had a terrible ending.
When all was said and done, I realized that I’ve allowed myself to focus too much on my own faults and frustrations. As a result, I had taken my eyes off of Jesus which has made me both easily frustrated and quite nihilistic. While it may be understandable to feel that way from a worldly perspective, it’s not in line with who I, or we, are called to be as citizens and priests of the Kingdom of God.
Ancient Abandon 