Suffering as a Blessing

The Multi-faceted Blessing of Loneliness.

First, is the blessing of selflessness.

Second, is the blessing of recognizing the true gift of what is already there.

Third, is the blessing of awareness of the still small voice of God.

Fourth is the blessing of time to focus on the meaning and path set before one.

We are so quick to see our pain as something negative. If we were mere beasts this would be understandable. We are more, though so few of us realize it. We, as a species, have been given revelation from the Holy One. We have been given inborn resemblance to the Creator of all. We are creative, emotional, intellectual, sentient, and able to find beauty is so much of what God has done. So why would we, like the beasts of the field and the birds of the air, see only what hurts now? As eternal beings, why would we limit what our lives are for? If we are strangers to this world, meant for a purpose so much larger than our own pleasure and glory, why do we live as if nothing matters but our sensuality, pride, and need for security?

How did the strange and forbidden woman of proverbs attract the young man into the act of purchasing her sexual favors? Certainly he cannot be relieved of his guilt in going the way to her house. The purpose of what is being written here is not to cast blame, but to reveal what is in the heart of a man that can be coaxed, or plainly offered, into what is natural to the carnal flesh. She catches him with a look of her face. She draws him in with pride. She noticed him, as if there were none other there. She tells him that she has prepared for him. How large a stroke of the pride to say it was he that she has prepared her bed for! She’s not saying that what she offers is simply a few moments of pleasure. She has prepare the way for him. She touches more than just his sexual desires, she reaches down into his view of his self. She has taken that small voice buried by years of obeying the laws of Moses and given it air, water, and sun that it may grow.

When God sees the heart He sees it without confusion as to what is right and wrong. When God sees the heart He does not do so only looking to see the best or worst in an individual. God does so with both complete moral clarity, and precise vision as to the deep and consistent state of the human heart. Michael Ramsden wrote, “Love does not exist in the absence of judgments; true love exists when some one has passed correct moral judgment on who you are and is under no illusions as to what you’re like, but still loves you.” How much clearer a description is needed than this, the God of the Bible? Who but the Creator of all has the right to determine what is right and wrong? Who else but the Law-Giver has the right to determine what is worthy of blood? Who else but the Alpha & Omega can see into the hearts of man to pass proper judgment? Yet, who else but our Savior Jesus came to die a worthy death as a payment for our sins? None, declares understanding! None, declares knowledge!

So the gift of loneliness is given to us amidst our every declaration that we desire salvation not just from hell, but more so from our sinful past selves. It is given to show us that we are not the center of the world. Just as every prayer is not answered only because it is not what is best, but because it teaches us that God is God, and that we are not.