Tears of Comfort

A few days after the Easter tornado, I went to visit a friend who had suffered a great loss of property. As I drove along Jenkins Road, I got “lost.” I didn’t know where I was; all the landmarks – trees, street signs, buildings -- were gone or distorted. I couldn’t find my friend’s house. I saw the destruction of our church and school, which I had seen in photos. When I finally got to my friend’s house and knocked on her door, tears were streaming down my face. I couldn’t stop them. I thought, “She doesn’t need this, my crying; she has her own troubles without my adding to them.” Maybe I was wrong. After she showed me the damage and loss and told her story, as I was leaving, she startled me by saying, “Thank you for crying for me.”

Well, I hadn’t meant to. I had intended to encourage her, but not by being discouraged. Yet, my distress showed her that I entered into her sorrow. We shared the pain.

God’s Word tells us that we can comfort others after we have needed and experienced His comfort.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” 2 Cor 1:3,4.

 In this Scripture, the writer is talking about suffering for the cause of Christ, but note the words, “all our tribulation,” and “who are in any trouble.”  Possibly there is a principle applying to many situations. God is the “God of all comfort.” He acknowledges our sorrows, He sees our tears, and He wants us to turn to Him for comfort. After that, we can see others’ sorrows, accept their tears, and give them a safe place to turn for comfort.

Often when I am dealing with stress or pain, I think, “I don’t need this.” But maybe I do, according to God, so I can empathize with (comfort) others.

Romans 12, in instructing us with many ways to show love, includes the command to weep (or mourn) with those who weep (or mourn). We aren’t told to recite Scriptures, share encouraging anecdotes or (worst of all) tell them to “forget it.” We are told to mourn right along with them. That would mean actually participating in sorrow. That may be hard. We don’t want any more sorrow, especially other people’s sorrow. We have enough of our own. But just that – enough of our own – is what enables us to participate compassionately with others.

Many of us have shed tears over the many kinds of losses that came with the tornado. And many among us are shedding tears over other kinds of losses and heartaches.

When we are hurting, our first remedy is to turn to the Lord. When others are hurting, our first remedy is to turn to the Lord. Then it’s OK to be hurt along with them.

Comforting another isn’t as simple as disposing of their pain. Usually we don’t have that power. But we do have the power to be hurt, ourselves. Evidently, that can be a Godly thing, if we turn to Him for comfort. Let’s ask God to help us use our pain as He instructs us.

--Lynda Shenefield

How Genesis Challenged Me

I finished a study of Genesis 12-50 today. You know these stories; I knew them before doing this study as well. As a matter of fact, during my years of teaching fifth grade at Grace Academy, I taught through Genesis during the first quarter of every school year (of course there were a few stories I left out). In these thirty-nine chapters are the stories of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, Leah, Rachel, Tamar, Dinah, and Joseph along with his eleven brothers.

At the end of the final session that I listened to today, the teacher (Jen Wilkin) had us turn to Hebrews 11, the great hall of faith. A large part of this chapter is devoted to this Genesis clan, from Abraham to Joseph (verses 8-22). After studying their lives over ten weeks, reading this commentary in Hebrews brought tears. Men and women (Sarah is mentioned too) who lived over 1500 years prior to this writing are spoken of as examples of faith whose trust was in their God, who did not see the promises fulfilled in their lifetimes (verse 13), and of whom the world was not worthy (38). Then this chapter ends with the following verses: “And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect” (39-40).

We see God’s redemptive plan as we look back over Scripture from this side of the cross. They did not:

-- Though Abraham received the promise of a nation through whom all other nations would be blessed, he did not know that God’s own Son would come from his bloodline to save the world.

-- The day that Abraham took the knife to slay his son and a voice stopped him and God provided a ram, he didn’t know that what he had been rescued from, God Himself would one day do, sending His Son to die on a mountain top.

-- When Jacob had to flee his home and dreamed one night about a ladder going from earth to heaven, he understood that God was in that place, but he did not understand that God would send a descendent who Himself would be that ladder, the bridge between God and man (John 1:51).

-- After hoping for years to gain her husband’s love and that desire being reflected in the names of her first three boys, Leah didn’t know that when she named her fourth son Judah, saying “This time I will praise the Lord” (Gen. 29:35), that God had chosen her, the unloved wife, and this son to be in the line of Christ.

-- When Judah was a grown man and offered himself as servant to a ruler in Egypt in place of his brother Benjamin who it seemed had stolen a valuable cup, he didn’t know that he was foreshadowing a descendent who would offer his life for the guilty.

-- When Joseph stated in Genesis 50 that what man intended for evil, God intended for good to save many people through his providing bread for them in the years of famine, he had no way of knowing that his life was showing in many small ways the life of a much greater One who would be put to death on a cross, and that God would intend that evil act for good to provide the world with living bread that would save the souls of men.

            The stories of these men and women are remarkable in themselves, but until they are looked at from this side of the cross, they cannot be fully understood. These people did not see the redemptive purposes that God was working; they simply believed His promises, and it is that faith that was counted for them as righteousness. We now have the privilege of looking back and seeing their lives in light of the big picture. This is the ‘better’ that God has for us that is mentioned in Hebrews 11:39. We have seen God’s redemptive plan unfold and the promise of the Messiah come true. We will be made perfect along with these saints of old when Christ returns and sets all things right.

            So what does this mean for us now? Perhaps that’s the question that the author of Hebrews sought to answer as he wrote the very next sentence. (There were no chapter divisions when this letter was first written.) “Therefore since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [the ones he just listed out in chapter 11], let us lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is marked out for us, looking to Jesus…” (Hebrews 12:1-2). Whether or not these saints of old are witnesses in the sense that they see what we are doing now on this earth, they are certainly witnesses to the fact that God keeps His promises, that He is worth following, and that even when we don’t understand what He’s doing, we trust that He knows what He is about and will work all things for good.

So, Sister in Christ, as we stand here in our spot in the redemptive story line of God’s work in the world,  let us trust that the God who spoke to and led these men and women of old is the same God Who seeks a relationship with us and Who wants us to live the lives marked out for us with endurance and with our eyes fixed on Christ. May this understanding of how God worked in the lives of those who have gone before us even when they didn’t understand it or see the big picture spur us on to trust Him with our lives as well, especially in uncertain times. And one day, may our commendation by those who follow after us be the same: that we too were women of faith (Hebrews 11:3).

--Amy O'Rear

Thank you for everything

Last week I could not get away from the song Still.  I sang it over and over, night and day.  I looked it up on YouTube and heard Hillsong and others sing it.  I cried over it.  I prayed through it.  I praised God in it.

            Hide me now under your wings.

            Cover me within Your mighty hand.

            Find rest, my soul, in Christ alone.

            Know His power in quietness and trust.

            When the oceans rise and thunders roar,

            I will soar with You above the storms.

            Father, You are king over the flood.

            I will be still and know You are God.

            Easter Sunday, April 12, 2020, was the day every single person in Grace Baptist Church went through a storm that will change his or her life forever.  In the midst of the pandemic storm, a tornado took our buildings at the corner of Shallowford and Jenkins and left twisted metal and debris.  Now there are many questions about how the future will look, how the Church will cope, how the buildings will be rebuilt, what services will look like.

            Further down Jenkins, that storm hit my daughter’s house.  The tornado left her roof, barely, but swept her yard clean of trees and flowers, barn, storage building, rabbit pen, dog pen. It crashed trees through the windows and brickwork.  I have watched as she coped with the traumatic losses from that storm that hit her house.  And there are questions.  So many questions.

            As I’ve watched through the storm, I have been grateful that I could soar above the storm.  But this week a song from my youth surfaced.  I started singing it in the night when I could not sleep, in the day as I worked here, and as I spent time helping my daughter.

            Thank You, Jesus, for all You’ve done.

            Thank You, Lord.

            Thank You, Jesus, for victories won,

            Oh, thank You, Lord,

            For Thy love and tender care,

            For Thy Word and answered prayer.

            Thank You, Jesus, for everything.

            Thank You, Lord.

            So this week I want to say thank You.  I had been listing all the ways God had protected my daughter and our church when I felt as if a bolt of lightning hit me.  Look at that second song.  The things listed there are the things that no tornado or storm of any kind can ever take away from us.  So thank You, Lord, for protection through the storm, and for everything.

                                                                        Faith Himes Lamb

Corona Virus Quarantine Thoughts from the Back Porch

So, I’ve been thinking lots about this virus and the inconvenience of it all. And I
thought I came to a conclusion about why this is so hard for me. Generally, I am a
“go with the flow” kind of person. I think that working in a church office for 29 years
I have seen so much sadness and grief that I usually can put things into great
perspective. And, during my life when I have gone through difficult times, I have
turned to God’s Word, trusted mentors and Christian friends, and good solid Christian
authors who have really given me great insight in helping me to see that God is and
always will be in control. He is our creator and therefore we belong to Him. He wants
the best for us and while that sometimes is very difficult to see or imagine, it is true.
He created us to bring glory to Him! He allows bad things to come into our lives so
that we will see our need for Him. He wants a relationship with us. So, I do recognize
these things, but I still felt like this situation was out of my control and I was really
bothered by the way it made me feel. 

I searched the scriptures for control and kept coming up with verses talking about
self-control. No, not self-control, I said to myself, but control of the situation – me
being able to control my situation…

I have stewed over this for several days and then out of the blue this morning it
came to me. The fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:22 “But the fruit of the spirit is love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;
against such things there is no law.” (ESV) What I have been pondering is wrong,
it’s not about control, but it is about love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

I know that these all work together as one fruit and if one is out of sync, then there
is a lack in all these areas. Maybe God is telling me that while I thought it was a lack
of control over my life and my situation that was affecting me, it is really a lack of
self-control or total dependence on God. Hard for me to admit. I believe my faith in
Christ is very strong, but is God showing me it’s not strong enough? Of course!
There is always room for improvement in everything and sometimes it takes a big
deal to get our attention. 

So, I will pray God will give me patience as we wait, self-control as I miss my kids,
grandkids and my daily routine, joy in the midst of the unknown, peace that only
God provides, kindness to those grocery clerks and pharmacists that I may do
business with, goodness and gentleness as I do what I can to help who I can, and
yes, self-control because right now, this very moment I realize -  I am not and never
have been in control. Praise God that He is!

Pam Dratnol

Shouting for Joy!

Psalm 90:9-10,11-12, “For all our days ebb away under Your wrath; we end our years like a sigh. Our lives last seventy years or, if we are strong, eighty years. Even the best of them are struggle and sorrow; indeed, they pass quickly and we fly away. Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.”

Thinking of the latest events with the pandemic and tornadoes, I can see why Moses would write such depressing words. Life is hard. We end our years like a sigh. But then Moses added these words:

“Satisfy us in the morning with Your faithful love
so that we may shout with joy and be glad all our days.
Make us rejoice for as many days as You have humbled us,
for as many years as we have seen adversity.
Let Your work be seen by Your servants,
and Your splendor by their children.
Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us;
establish for us the work of our hands—
establish the work of our hands!”

Regarding the destruction of our church and school, I am excited to see what God will do. Let Your work be seen by Your servants, and Your splendor by their children. Oh, may it be so! May we get a glimpse of God’s glory in all of this! May we have incredible stories to tell our children and grandchildren! May we shout with joy and be glad all our days! I want God’s hand of favor upon us as we rebuild, don’t you? So, we pray for this and as we number our days, may we allow Him to establish the work of our hands. Yes Lord, establish the work of our hands!

Our Father never leaves us hopeless. Confused? Yes, but not hopeless.

joyce hague