Amazing God in all Circumstances

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV

Do we worship an amazing God? When is God amazing? Amazing, as a word, has been criticized as one of the most overused words in English, but I think it is always appropriate when applied to God! There are not enough adjectives now to truly describe God.

So, when the headline “God is an Amazing God Says Pastor Whose Daughter Miraculously Survived Car Wreck” caught my attention the other day. The pastor’s daughter narrowly escaped a horrendous accident. A guardrail pierced the entire length of the car, leaving his daughter with only minor scratches on her hands and feet.

If you looked at the picture of the car, you could also say it was a miracle she survived. I do not belittle a grateful father for describing God as amazing. I am thankful that he could praise God for his daughter’s survival. However, I started to think, Is God only amazing when things are going well? If the outcome had been different, would God still be amazing?

In the same timeframe, the daughter of a family in Georgia was brutally killed. Laken Riley a young, aspiring nursing student at Augusta University was killed during a morning run around the University of Georgia campus. Describing the incident as a senseless and avoidable tragedy, her family would have reason to question if God was amazing. Yet her Mom, Allyson Phillips shared, “My family has faced the most devastating, unimaginable loss that anyone could ever be forced to endure. I would like to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for being with me and my family during this heartbreaking time.”

I don’t know the family but I could guess they would answer that God is amazing and maybe more so in the face of this tragedy. Mrs. Phillips went on to share, “I encourage everyone to have a personal relationship with Jesus. I give Him all the glory for getting us through this.” (Billy Hallowell, CBN)

“Jesus, as I wait today in this dark and desperate world where many dreams have died, teach me to trust even when I can’t understand, and help me, Lord, not to hide from life’s shadows and pain.” (Prayer from Lectio 365)

Finding answers as we struggle through pain, suffering, heartache, and doubt is never easy and many times, unanswerable. We all like answers that can fit into a brightly wrapped box adorned with ribbons and bows. Academically you can get a nice, concise answer on the ‘why did it happen’ but down in the depth of your soul, the only word you hear is, Why?

British pastor Pete Greig commenting upon the Matthew 27 account of preparing Jesus’ body for burial wrote, “During Jesus’ lifetime, countless people came to Him with requests—for healing, for teaching, for forgiveness, for presence, for answers and explanations. But now that He is dead there is nothing whatsoever to be gained by coming to Jesus. Quite the reverse: it’s risky, distressing, and pointless. And so, there is something particularly moving about the selfless devotion of the characters in today’s reading as they lovingly tend His corpse. It’s easy to worship when everything is wonderful, but far more powerful to do so when our hopes and dreams have died. It’s easy to be faithful when our faith makes sense, but faithfulness begins when our faith seems insane.”

Praise comes out of a heart that is nurtured in the intimacy of God as Father. It is through images of his tenderness and care that we can find the words to express our adoration and praise of God. David Roseberry writes “The Bible uses human metaphors and word pictures to talk about God. It must if we humans are to understand it! We are image-oriented people and tend to have difficulty relating to abstractions. Models help us understand how things work. This is true on a scientific level and a theological level as well. For example, if we claim—as the Bible does—that God is good, powerful, loving, and kind, we are speaking in the abstract. These statements can be accurate, but what do they mean to us? To others? But saying God is a good, powerful, loving, and kind Father helps us understand the idea. “(David Roseberry, The Psalm on the Cross)

It is in this intimacy of worship that David was able to write the Psalms. Jesus quoted Psalm 22 as he endured the agony of the cross. The words of this Psalm allowed his soul to worship God even amid his pain, humiliation, and suffering. “From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will pay before those who fear him. The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD. May your hearts live forever!” (Ps 22:25-26 NRSV)

Throughout the last several weeks as we journeyed through Lent, Good Friday, and ultimately the life-giving Resurrection, we reflected upon grace nailed to a cross.  It was in this grace that cost Jesus dearly, that the stranglehold of death and sin was broken. Hopefully, we have been reminded that as broken and sinful individuals, we could never, on our own, have the capacity to praise God. Only through God can praise come as He is the subject and object of our praise.

The first Archbishop of Canterbury of the Anglican Church was Thomas Cranmer. One of his lasting and maybe most impactful legacies was as the principal architect and author of the Book of Common Prayer. Cranmer understood that we are too broken and sinful to offer God praise, only through God comes praise.

“Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you, no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Names; through Christ our Lord. Amen”

God is great!