It’s another picture perfect day in Portland except when I turn on the TV to find that my hometown is going to get hit with the fury of Hurricane Irene losing her temper.
A half of foot of rainfall, winds of up to 50 mph and my house is already among the 5 million homes without power.
And I’m 3,000 miles away and I can’t do anything about it.
Right now, I know a lot of people who are under water and without the power to stop their emotional, physical and spiritual pain. And I feel further than 3,000 miles away from their hurts. I can’t stop it. I can’t do anything but pray and try to be their friend.
The scriptures tell us that know one can truly understand another’s pain or joy! Each person is assigned some measure of good and bad that only God can understand. It’s a divine strategy that either draws us closer to Him as we discover He truly does get it OR it moves us toward anger. “Bitter or better” is the saying my pastor used repeatedly.
Right now, those I love are getting bullied by the rage of a tropical storm while I sit under a beautiful and calm sky on the opposite coast. I am safe and sound. But I am not at ease. I feel for those far away.
Scripture talks about a place where there is no more pain or suffering. In heaven, the bible also speaks of “a cloud of witnesses” up there. (Hebrews 12:1) I like to think they are like those at the end of the marathon who welcome the weary and worn runner. Only those who have made the run truly understand what it takes to cross that finish line.
And what of Jesus whose pure heartstrings are pulled even though it sometimes feels as if He is so far away?
“Christ Jesus…is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” Romans 8:34 [Although salvific, it’s no stretch to know He pulls for us especially that suffering might be used to bring some to salvation]
Father, Be My God
Words and Music by Robert J. LaCosta
1st & 2nd Chorus:
Father, be my God
God, be my Father, too
Everywhere and anytime
I want to be near You
As close as Your breast
Be my only rest
Watch over all I think and do
I want to be near You (2X)
Verse:
Complexity has found me
After years and years of trying
Simplicity escaped me
I watched Eden dying
Loved ones on life’s ledges
Perilously they walk
And I’m caught on their edges
With prayer my only talk
Bridge:
Close to You I hear Your heart beat
It just doesn’t get any better
and this is where love is begun
we feel their pain together
3rd Chorus
Child, be My son, I’ll be you Father, too
Everywhere and anytime, I want to be near you
As close as My breast, come to Me, we’ll rest
I’ll watch over all you do, I’ll always be with you
I love to be with you
“Father, Be My God”: Copyright, 2010. No Reputation Communications, LLC. All rights reserved. Words and music by Robert J. LaCosta.
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