“O LORD, the God who saves me, day and night I cry out before you. May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry. For my soul is full of trouble and my life draws near the grave. I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am like a man without strength.” Psalm 88 (NIV)
Perhaps the Psalmist is nearing the end of his life. Perhaps hospice needs have finally caught up with him. Notice he is not having a conversation with Dr. Jack Kervokian, the Doctor of Death. The Psalmist is not looking for a way out of his troubles, but rather is making an appeal to “the God who saves me.” Is the Psalmist looking beyond the veil of his earthly suffering and pain and into the reality of eternity with the LORD? Perhaps. We can’t really know the mind of the Psalmist, but he certainly seems to know the mind and heart of the LORD God of his salvation. Questions certainly arise when considering life threading conditions. Does God really care? Is He familiar with human suffering like we are? Christians have claimed that God really feels our pain and is intimately acquainted with our suffering. Christ is called a “Man of Sorrows.” Can we discover the suffering of God? What do you think? Did God suffer the day Lucifer opted for rebellion and was cast out of Heaven? Did God feel pain the day the serpent came to Eve and led her to believe a lie? We must ask ourselves these questions or we fall short in our understanding of God’s compassion for the human condition. Do we feel the pain and agony of our children’s suffering? Of course we do. Do we feel the pain and suffering of family members who are suffering? Of course we do. Do we feel the pain suffering of our neighbors and friends? Of course we do. The most poignant scene of suffering I ever viewed was in Mel Gibson’s “The Passion.” Do you recall the scenes of the scourging and beatings? The Roman soldiers were animalistic and inhumane beyond all reason. And yet, there is this remarkable scene where Christ is struggling with His Cross, falls to the ground, and for a brief moment embraces it. Do you remember? A soldier quipped something to the effect of, “Look at the fool. He embraces His Cross.” Certainly God is a God who is extremely familiar with all human suffering. Can we embrace our suffering as a better means of coming alongside those who are still suffering from all the maladies and miseries that comes along with the human experience? The LORD of Salvation does, so can we. It is a way to get beyond the powerlessness and unmanageability of our own experience.
Chaplain Pete
