{"id":7365,"date":"2017-10-02T16:34:47","date_gmt":"2017-10-02T21:34:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.twocities.org\/?p=7365"},"modified":"2017-10-02T16:34:47","modified_gmt":"2017-10-02T21:34:47","slug":"lament-for-las-vegas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.twocities.org\/?p=7365","title":{"rendered":"LAMENT FOR LAS VEGAS"},"content":{"rendered":"

From my forthcoming book, God, What on Earth are You Doing?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

How Should We Live in this World?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

As mentioned earlier, a proper understanding of trusting God through suffering does not preclude enjoying the good things of God.\u00a0 We can and we should.\u00a0 Since God does not need us, our celebrations, our hobbies like golf or woodwork, and our love of travel, can be tangible demonstrations of trusting in God\u2019s grace.\u00a0 Unfortunately, these good things can also become unhealthy diversions that keep us thinking about the most important issues of life.\u00a0 Even gifts from our gracious God can lead us astray.\u00a0 We must guard against \u201cperishing inch by inch in play at little games.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n

We live in a world with easy access (thanks to media) to the never ending news of injustice, suffering, and evil.\u00a0 How do we process this avalanche of sadness without going mad?\u00a0 Years ago, I heard theologian David Wells say that only God is able to handle all the suffering and evil in the world.\u00a0 We were not designed for the constant bombardment of bad news, so it would be wise to consider how much we ingest on a daily basis.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Perhaps we should take the popular option of doing what Voltaire prescribed many years ago: simply hunker down and only \u201ctend our own gardens.\u201d\u00a0 Tending to our own affairs does seem to be a good way to maintain some semblance of sanity.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Recently, I preached in various churches from the book of Lamentations.\u00a0 Towards the end of my sermon preparation I spent some time reflecting on the common responses people have to suffering.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure there are others, but I came up with three \u201cD words\u201d: detachment, diversion, and depression.\u00a0 My wife later added desensitized which could easily fit as a characteristic of those who detach.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The idea of \u201cdetachment\u201d from pain is gaining popularity in everything from business books to popular books on spirituality.[1]<\/a>\u00a0 Diversion is also something we\u2019ve already addressed.\u00a0 Again, diversions in and of themselves can be welcome respites from the constant onslaught of grief, but it is unhealthy to never face your struggles.\u00a0 The response of depression is something many of us can identify with.\u00a0 We look at our broken world in all its chaotic mess and we despair.\u00a0\u00a0 Another \u201cD\u201d came to my mind later with diminish, where we downplay how bad things are.\u00a0 I think those as well could be plugged under the detachment option.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jesus provides us the perfect example of how to handle the devastation that comes from acute suffering.[2]<\/a>\u00a0 In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus\u2019s \u201csoul was deeply grieved, to the point of death.\u201d (Matt. 26:38)\u00a0 Jesus was deeply troubled, yet willing to submit to the Father\u2019s will.\u00a0 If it is okay for the Son of God to be so troubled, we too are given much space to cry out to our God.\u00a0 Being baffled by what God is up to and yet still trusting Him can coexist.\u00a0 In fact, these are signs of spiritual health.\u00a0 Lament underscores that we are not at peace with the brokenness of our world, but we can still experience \u201cthe peace that transcends human understanding.\u201d (Phil. 4:7; J.B. Phillips New Testament)\u00a0 What good is peace anyways if we only experience it when circumstances are to our liking?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The glorious news is that the ultimate lament of all time was given by Jesus on the cross.\u00a0 I like to say that because Jesus gave the only upper case L, lament, we now can \u201clament with hope.\u201d\u00a0 Our laments can come from deep within.\u00a0 These visceral cries are not just allowed by our great and gracious God.\u00a0 They were modeled by Him!\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

It may feel like our world is crumbling before us, but the worst possible lament was already offered by Jesus.\u00a0 His lament on our behalf gives us confidence that our weeping will not last forever.\u00a0 The older I get I find myself offering two laments on a regular basis: \u201cGod, you know how difficult it is to live in this world, right?\u201d and \u201cPlease come back soon and make things right!\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019m comforted by the fact that I have the full freedom to offer these prayers of lament to God. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Tragically, the cynic\u2019s posture is one many take.\u00a0 It is important to realize that all cynics share a common, but terribly misguided belief: they think they are omniscient.\u00a0 This may sound very strange to you.\u00a0 How in the world does a cynic think he is all knowing?\u00a0 Let me explain.\u00a0 A cynic has determined that he knows everything, and concluded that all indeed is bleak.\u00a0 Nothing or no one seems to be able to change his gloomy assessment.\u00a0 Here is where theology gets practical.\u00a0 Only God is all-knowing.\u00a0 He is the only one who is fully aware of all the pain and suffering that goes on in our world.\u00a0 As we saw, God\u2019s Son gave the ultimate lament for sin.\u00a0 Sin is the reason for all the grief in our world.\u00a0 The irony is that things are actually worse in one sense than the cynic can appreciate for cynics rarely consider their own sin.\u00a0 Fortunately, this is not the end of the story.\u00a0 The cynic has missed a massive truth:\u00a0 God is the author of hope.\u00a0 Biblical hope does not mean our life will be smooth sailing.\u00a0 This is clear from our study of Habakkuk.\u00a0 We can find rest, however, in the hope-filled promise that the \u201csufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed to us.\u201d (Rom. 8:18)\u00a0 Lest you are tempted into a cynic\u2019s mode by saying these words are unrealistic, keep in mind who penned them.\u00a0 The apostle Paul experienced great suffering.\u00a0 He was no mere theoretician when it comes to pain. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Christians can stare honestly at the brokenness of the world, their<\/em> world (!), yet be steadied by a God who offers real comfort in Jesus.\u00a0 My prayer is that this study brings greater wisdom, joy, and confidence in the only One who is worthy of our trust.\u00a0 May we be like Habakkuk who learned that nothing or no one can take away \u201cthe God of his salvation.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> See for example, Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman, The Daily Stoic: 366 Mediations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living <\/em>(New York, NY: Random House, 2016) and various writings of the popular writer on spirituality, Anthony de Mello.\u00a0 A profound book demonstrating the impossibility of mixing Stoicism and Christianity is C. Kavin Rowe, One True Life: the Stoics and Early Christians as Rival<\/em> Traditions<\/em> (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2016).<\/strong><\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> For the suffering of Jesus, I am grateful for a conversation I had with our son, David.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From my forthcoming book, God, What on Earth are You Doing? How Should We Live in this World? As mentioned earlier, a proper understanding of trusting God through suffering does not preclude enjoying the good things of God.\u00a0 We can and we should.\u00a0 Since God does not need us, our celebrations, our hobbies like golf […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,43,111,94,89,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-american-history","category-christianity","category-emotions","category-encouragement","category-gospel","category-suffering"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.twocities.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.twocities.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.twocities.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.twocities.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.twocities.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7365"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.twocities.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7365\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7367,"href":"https:\/\/www.twocities.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7365\/revisions\/7367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.twocities.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.twocities.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.twocities.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}