One Sunday-morning program that I love to catch
while having coffee is Day of Discovery, which is presented by Radio Bible
Class/RBC Ministries which came into being in 1938 and is well known around the
world.
Last month, they told the story of a family changed forever by a tragic event which we feel
compelled to call an accident. It is an
amazing story about survival of the Spirit in
tremendous agony of loss. Many of
these stories are played out in life every single day so we often overlook
them, or feel bad for a few minutes and then go on with our own lives. This story is told by the family, through the
words written in the journal of Lygon, the daughter who perished that day. Her thoughts alone are worth our full
attention.
But this story is sticking with me because it
struck a serious chord about trusting
God, and how to make our way through this life while looking forward to the
next.
Mountain climbers practically from birth, Lygon and Nicholas, her brother, had gone to do
a winter break climb. They were both
very, very experienced climbers and they both loved the challenge and the
“drawing nearer to God” that they did on their climbs. On their way up the mountain this time, they
paused a moment to look around and then they heard the most fearful sound that can be heard on
a mountain: A huge WHUMP! It was the sound of a field of snow breaking
away into a slide down the mountain. They had no time to even gather their
thoughts. She called his name just as he was beginning to slide. He used his skills to stay on top of the snow,
but ended up tumbling over and over as the snow took him to the bottom. His body was broken in several places, but he
pulled himself out of the snow and headed back up to look for his sister. The terrain was spotless. There was no sign of her. Finally he realized he must save himself. It was pure agony for him to leave her there.
The story
of that effort is amazing. He was
rescued the next day and the search was on for his sister. They did not recover her body until spring.
Meanwhile, the family had to deal with their grief
and pain and doubts that came from simply not understanding. Nicholas went specifically to the book of
Job. (That is one of my favorite books in the whole Bible, so this caught my interest
and I listened closely.) In his pain he
kept asking God, “Why?” Sound
familiar? It should. We all do it.
But as he thought about Job and questioned God over and over, God nudged
him into realizing that he was asking the wrong question. What God put in Nicholas’ mind was that he
would get an answer to his question if he changed his question from “Why?” to
“Who?”
God suggested that he take another look at Job,
because God DID answer Job, even though many do not recognize that when they
read the story. God did not bother with
an answer to "Why?" because He does not need to explain to us the Why’s of
life. Our answers are in the “Who?”
And that brings me to why I love the book of Job: In chapter 38, Job and
God get on the same page and Job repents of his doubts and God reminds him of Who his God really is. It sends a chill up my back every time I read it.
God get on the same page and Job repents of his doubts and God reminds him of Who his God really is. It sends a chill up my back every time I read it.
Chapters 38-40 are tremendously exciting. If you have not read them lately, go back and
do it. God always was, God is, and God
always will be ALL THINGS… the I AM.
And, here, in these verses, He spends a lot of time and words making
that very clear.
May we all remember the Who? when we start to ask the Why?. May we practice asking the right question and
remembering the eternal truth of the never changing answer to that question. Our
God is the most awesome, wonderful Creator, Sustainer, Savior, Shepherd, Leader
and Guide that could ever be. And He
loves us and wants us to love Him too.
We are truly blessed beyond reason.
May we remember that He is perfect in all things, even
in the worst events that happen to us. What
ever is loss will be gain in the end and nothing that happens to us or those we
love is ever an accident. God is always
on top of things making sure that these things work together for good for those
who love Him. Amen.
This is a story to see and hear in the quiet of
your home and it is well worth watching as God heals and uses this family after
this tragic loss:
The great I AM! I love those last chapters of Job, too. "Where were you...?" Trust, no matter what. He knows what He is doing.
ReplyDeleteYes, Ann. And, as I watch you travel this difficult road through your Husband's health problems and I remember my trip walking through my Steve's problems, I see so clearly how much I missed and suffered while being angry with God. You are a light for me in your struggle. Thanks for your comments for for being my facebook friend.
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