Susan Narjala
Keeping it Real
Where is God When the Ache is Overwhelming?
Jet lag jolts me awake. It’s 3:35 am.
Not knowing what else to do, I grab my phone and scan the headlines. My heart slips into the pit of my stomach as I read the news articles about the children at Camp Mystic. “Lord, please, please let there be a miracle. Let the rest of the kids be found. Let them be perfectly fine.”
But as the days go by, the death toll rises. Tears fall. Hope fizzles out. A numbness sets in.
My son had just spent the previous week at a Christian summer camp by a lake. Staying on a houseboat anchored to an island.
I couldn’t bring myself to let that sink in. This hit too close to home.
I can never fully understand the blinding pain that the parents of these children live with. Waking up to nothingness. The empty bed. The pink Nike sneakers in the hallway. Half-eaten cereal boxes in the kitchen cupboards. Daily bolts of searing pain.
God, where are you in all this?
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
Isaiah 43:2
God, what does this all really mean?
The rivers did sweep over those beautiful children.
Why? Where are you in the heartache?
There is no voice from heaven.
Nothing discernible. Nothing distinct.
This is not a time for platitudes.
This is time for prayer.
For lament.
For grief.
For unhindered tears.
For unhinged emotion.
Where is God when the ache is unbearable?
He is not a distant observer.
He holds the hurting.
He weeps with them.
He grieves with them.
He is not a distant observer.
He heals the crushed,
When words fail because wounds are too raw,
His Spirit groans.
He is not a distant observer.
He anchors the brokenhearted in hope.
Hope eternal.
Hope unfailing.
As you pass through the waters of grief,
As you are engulfed by rivers of searing pain,
As the flood of sorrow threatens to swallow you,
He promises to hold you, to heal you, to anchor you.
In hope.
In Himself.
MEET SUSAN
Comments
4 Comments
Ted Senapatiratne
Thank You, Susan! What a comforting post! When the ache is so great for so many, and the “Silence of God” incomprehensible! As you said, no platitudes!
As I have said recently, “No words, just a hug and a silent acknowledgement of love and presence! Thanks, Susan!
Recently, well quite a few months ago, I lost my father, who was 105 years old. And of all the acknowledgments, it was the friend, who gave me a warm hug, and never said a word, with tears streaming down their face!
Yes! God is near, and He does offer you/us that much needed hug
Susan Narjala
Thanks for sharing that, Ted. That’s something I can learn from. Just to be present when someone is hurting. That’s a powerful thing to be present and to weep with those who weep. And, it’s so amazing that we get to receive that from God before being that empathetic presence for someone else. Blessings, Susan
Maura
Thank you for such words of comfort
Susan Narjala
Thanks, Maura. I’m grateful for the opportunity to share what God laid on my heart. — Susan