The Beautiful and the Terrible

Do you want to hear the beautiful or the terrible?

Do you like the good news first or the bad news?

I have some awfully encouraging news to offer you today.  When I use the word ‘awfully’ just now that is on purpose. 

~Wouldn’t life be wonderful if all pain and suffering were eliminated?  

~Wouldn’t it be paradise if we had no struggles, no off-putting circumstances?  And if everybody in the whole world got along, now wouldn’t that be just about heaven?

Of course, the answer is “YES” – a thousand times yes.

However, we all know life is at best a hodge-podge of ups and downs, good days, less than stellar days, and sometimes it hardly seems worthwhile for us to get out of bed.

So where is the good news in the middle of all this mixed bag of good and bad?

We find a nugget of hope in this quote from Frederick Buechner. 

“Here is the world. 

Beautiful and terrible 

things will happen. 

Don't be afraid.” 

It almost seems like a slap in the face when he inserts that last comment, doesn’t it?  “Don’t be afraid” he says.

What?  Are you out of your mind?  Have you read a newspaper lately or watched the evening news?

That is our response, for sure. 

Okay – take a deep breath and tighten your shoe laces.  Things are about to get hopeful again.

There is a somewhat obscure passage in the Bible that speaks to our concerns today.  Here it is in my own paraphrase.

“I have told you some of these things because I want you to have peace.  You will have troubles in this world, but hang on.  I have overcome the world.”

~John 16:33

Christ himself is speaking these words, and they are perhaps some of the most encouraging words we could find in the scriptures, especially for such a time as this one in which we find ourselves.

“I have overcome the world.” 

     Powerful words

          Hope-filled words

               Encouraging words

And in one of my favorite passages, we find this – “Be not afraid nor dismayed.  I your God will be with you wherever you go.”

That comes from Joshua 1:9.  These words were spoken to Joshua after his leader, Moses, has died. 

  Joshua feels inadequate. 

    He feels overwhelmed. 

      He feels that he is not quiet up to the job at 

      hand. 

You see, he is an untried leader, especially after walking in the shadow of Moses for all these years. 

God speaks these words to Joshua and they filter down to us today. 

“Be not afraid.”

“I will be with you no matter where you go."

In other words, beautiful and terrible things will come your way.  Don’t be afraid.

Can we rest on that anchor?

I do believe we can.

Is God capable of sustaining us even in the midst of the most severe difficulties?  I do believe He can.

We must acknowledge this – we were never promised smooth sailing.  We WERE promised that he would sail with us into whatever seas our path takes us and into whatever strong gales we may face.

What is left to be said?

Thanks be to God.

Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time