My friend is a former pastor, and when I heard the news about his situation, I felt sorry for him. A day or so later I realized something was wrong with my attitude. By feeling sorry for my friend, I had also subtly judged God’s faithfulness. How could God let this happen to him? I realized I was looking at my friend’s situation and making an independent determination about what was best for him. I had decided my friend could not possibly be deriving any kind of benefit from his present circumstances. I had decided God could not possibly be laying the foundation for an astonishing new chapter in his life. All I had considered was how disappointing and difficult things must be for him. I did not consider that he might be experiencing the Lord’s presence in that place more vividly than ever before in his life. I had discounted the truth that life is in Jesus and that Jesus was still living in my friend.
Judging God’s faithfulness erodes our own faith. After all, if God has not been faithful to other believers, how can we be sure He will be faithful to us?
Do not get me wrong. It is loving to have compassion for those who are suffering hardship. It is appropriate to weep with those who are weeping. It is biblical to pray for God to change bad to good, or to prevent bad from happening. It is right to do whatever we can to make things better for them. It is not appropriate to pity believers as though they are on their own, as if God has abandoned them, or as though God has dropped the ball with respect to caring for them. Because that is simply not the truth. The Lord’s faithfulness “reaches to the skies” meaning it is always “on” and never ends. In the best of times and the “worst” of times He is faithful. He is not only faithful when the door opens to results as we would like them. He is also faithful when the worst breaks down the door and disrupts our life.
By contrast, another dear friend had surgery yesterday and I felt deep concern. I felt compassion. I was worried about the outcome. So, I prayed for his good. I prayed for his comfort. I prayed for the success of the surgery. But I never felt sorry for him. Instead, I commended him to the faithfulness of the God who knows him best and loves him most. The God who is forever faithful to my friend and to me.
Something to take just a moment to consider today.
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