God in Times of Sorrow

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice! I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. In any case, it was kind of you to share my distress. ~ Philippians 4:4; 12-14



Listen
God speaks to each of us as he makes us,
then walks with us silently out of the night.
These are the words we dimly hear:
You, sent out beyond your recall,
go to the limits of your longing.

Embody me.
Flare up like a flame
and make big shadows I can move in.

Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror.
Just keep going. No feeling is final.
Don’t let yourself lose me.

Nearby is the country they call life.
You will know it by its seriousness.
Give me your hand. ~ Rainer Maria Rilke (Book of Hours, 1, 59)




This poem by Rilke is my absolute favorite, and lately it has become one I've been rereading frequently.

Can you imagine? Let everything happen to you, beauty and terror! Just keep going. No feeling is final.

No feeling is final.

Whatever happens today that is causing you fear, worry, anger, despair, will one day be gone.

The Apostle Paul knew something of this. He suffered seemingly insurmountable hardships in his life, and yet not only did he work through them, he accepted them.

He rejoiced in them!

He knew that all things were possible, even in the midst of suffering.

He knew he wasn't alone.

He knew that each feeling he had was real. Each pain was real. Each moment of compassion was real.

This is not a passive acceptance of suffering. It isn't a sigh of someone with a martyr complex or what some of us term "bearing our cross."

Instead it is being fully engaged in life. It is living each moment and not shutting out the reality - and the real, honest emotions - that you have.

It means letting each bit of reality bring you closer to God and closer to humanity.

And it means that suffering is not the end.

God has us by our hand.


Prayer: Give me your hand, O God, and let me not lose it as I grapple with my pain and sorrow. Amen

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