hmmm...

Sermons and studies have been helping us get through this hard time. But, last week, it was in stories and music that truth about God pierced through confusion in a way that sermons and studies do not.

I was making my way through the Narnia series again. The Horse And His Boy is probably one of my favourites. As many may know, the main character Shasta, is a poor orphan boy running away from a cruel life of slavery to the free North. The most unforgettable scene for me is at the darkest, most lowest point in his journey. He's already faced multiple attacks by lions, separation from his friends and many other frustrating situations. Now he's lost, alone and feeling very sorry for himself. Just when he thinks things can't get worse, he realizes there's SOMETHING walking beside him in the darkness.

He freaks out. Ghosts? Giants? NOW WHAT?? The SOMETHING eventually gets Shasta to talk about his troubles. Shasta dumps out the sob story of his life...all the pain and disappointments and, of course, all those lions chasing them...THEN...we learn from Shasta's companion that: "There was only one lion. I was that lion." The one lion that saved Shasta's life as a baby, the one lion that chased away wild animals so Shasta could sleep, that scared Shasta and his friends into running FASTER so they could sound a warning in time to save many lives. So Shasta was completely wrong on at least two levels when he thought all "those" lions were mean and malicious.

Sometimes I'm pretty sure God is trying to send me a message--and he repeats it in different ways so there's no chance I'll miss the point. Someone reminded me last week that God IS a kinder God than I really know or believe at times. When unexpected, lousy things happen, I'm quite tempted to dismiss him as uncaring and unresponsive! OR assume he's ONLY coldly interested in making me a 'better' person through suffering or something like that. Those are LIES! ALL LIES!! God is better to me than I know--if I stop and think about it, there is a history of this. And just like the one lion in the story, is running around arranging things behind the scenes of my life for my ultimate good. Do I believe this is true?

C.S. Lewis said (something to the effect of) "the hardness of God is softer than the kindness of men." Hmmm...

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Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

~William Cowper, God Moves in A Mysterious Way

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