AN HONEST LOOK AT A MYSTERIOUS JOURNEY

This week marked the 2^nd anniversary of my wife Mary’s death.  As I reflected on her life, my mind immediately went to her relationship with God.  She was a woman who longed to experience God in increasingly more identifiable ways.    As I reread her journals I saw her heart being poured out to God to answer prayer for family and friends.  I also read the words of deep pain, “God, why aren’t you working?”

I just finished reading a book by a man I deeply respect.  He has been a gifted and effective C&MA pastor.  At 48 his body was invaded by something that put him at death’s door.  No amount of tests could produce a diagnosis.  His body just went crazy.  This man was healthy, athletic, a runner;  but within a few days his life was changed in ways he and his family could never imagine.   He spent months in ICU and when he did get back home, he had lost 50 lbs, couldn’t walk without help, couldn’t drive, eat or do much of anything for himself.  He was kept alive through a feeding tube.  What was he to make of all this, especially in light of the thousands of people praying for his healing, day after day after day?   Though he is on the living side of death, he still has not fully recovered.  He records his story in an incredible book entitled, An Honest Look at a Mysterious Journey.  I recommend it for everyone, but especially those whose life is hard right now, who are going through times where God seems silent, distant, and uninvolved in their circumstances.  If you are having trouble seeing God at work in the challenges of your life, John’s insights into God and his promises will be helpful.  

I never expected my relationship with God to deepen to the level it did through Mary’s illness and death, but I discovered, as John did, that God is good all the time.  He is a good God doing a good work.  We may have trouble seeing it, but as Isaiah 55:8,9 says, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways, my ways, declares the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways.”  Enter into John’s story and see if it doesn’t really impact your walk with the Lord.