Talking Out Of Turn

Some words from a former hospital chaplain on the topic of grief (excerpted from his book, Grieving: Our Path Back to Peace, pp. 73-74):

As I visited suffering people all through the hospital, I was sharing with them God’s closeness, God’s comfort, and all of this is based upon the clear biblical teaching that God has a purpose in all things, including their suffering. So deeply ingrained in me was this concept that my favorite Bible verse speaks to this topic. It is Colossians 3:3, but first, the passage in its fuller context:

Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. (Colossians 3:1-4)

The Bible teaches that the believer has died with Christ, and his life is now hidden with Christ in God. I have often illustrated this truth using my class ring. I take the ring off, place it in the palm of my left hand, close my hand, and then cover my left hand with my right. The ring is now safely hidden away inside both of my hands. No one can touch that ring without first going through both of my hands. So it is with the Christian’s life. My life has been hidden with Christ (the left hand) in God the Father (the right hand). Nothing can touch my life that has not been allowed to touch my life by passing through both the Son and the Father. Nothing, then, is going to happen to me by accident, nothing that is outside of my loving Father’s control. He who spoke the worlds into existence exercises the same power in keeping me safe in His love.

Because of this great truth, I firmly believe that everything in my life — including the greatest tragedies and trials — has a purpose. I may not know what that purpose is, and often I do not. I may not find out even in this life what the purpose for a trial or difficulty was, but I don’t need to know. I have God’s promise, and that is good enough for me. He has promised, many times, that He is about making me like Christ, and since that is my heart’s desire, I know He will be faithful in accomplishing His task.

And (pp. 85-87):

First and foremost we are servants of Christ. … Do you think He still loves you? He does. He still asks for your service, even knowing you are hurting. He has a loving purpose, my friend. As you serve Him, He lives His life in you. He heals your heart, restores your soul. As you serve Him your life is enriched. And through it all, even if you can’t see it right now, He is creating a beautiful image, a new creation, another portrait of Jesus Christ.

My father once told the story of how a goldsmith would purify gold. The goldsmith begins by placing the gold in the crucible and turning up the fire. As the gold melts, different impurities, being lighter than the heavy gold, float to the surface. The goldsmith carefully skims off the impurities as they come to the surface.

So it is with us. God is about doing something in our lives. He is making us like Christ. But we have many impurities that He is removing from us. Trials and difficulties are the fire that brings these things to the surface.

But what does the goldsmith do after removing the first impurities that appear? Does he stop? No, he makes the fire even hotter, bringing up the next level of impurities. The process continues on, each time requiring more and more heat.

And so it is with us. The purer we wish to be in His sight, the hotter the fire must be. Do we pray, “God, turn up the heat”? Or do we pray only for a break, a season of ease? If our hearts truly desire to be like Christ, we pray that He will continue His work of conforming us to His image.

Finally, do you know how the goldsmith knows when he has a pure product? How does he know he has finished his task? Quite simply, he knows he has accomplished his goal when he sees his own reflection in the gold. The impurities are gone, and nothing stands in the way of the gold reflecting his face.

Do you see what God is up to in your life? Can God see His reflection in your life, my friend? I know I want Him to be able to do that in my life, but I also know that He has a lot of purifying yet to do. The trials and difficulties I face…is part of how God makes us like Christ. When you see your grief as a means by which God is making you like Christ, you can begin to thank Him for His mercy and grace toward you. In hope you can say, “But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me” (Micah 7:7).