Mariposa Kisses (aka Dianne's Blog)

Sometimes it feels that God is on a long coffee break. You know He's there. You pray to Him for your needs and wants. You even thank Him for your blessings and you apologize for the wrongdoings in your life. In spite of these efforts, it can feel like you're getting a busy signal or an out-of-the-office auto response. As believers, is there a way to reconcile God's omnipresence with the void of hearing His voice?

Someone who could definitely relate to feeling that God was on a break was Job. Can you imagine the tragedy that he went through? First, he loses all of his children from various incidents. The soldiers weren't enough to take them all out simultaneously, so the house falls down on the others while they're having a party. As if this atrocity weren't enough, Job's farms are destroyed and his corporate life collapses. Well, at least he had his health, right, for a few more days? But, even that takes a tumultuous downturn and eventually, he becomes so sick that his wife tells him to curse God and to die.

Job decides to keep pressing on, but at least he's still got a few friends left, right? Not! Even his friends abandon him and accuse him of being a terrible person because they can't come up with a better reason to justify his horrific losses. Going on at this point would seem close to impossible. No kids, no job, poor health, no friends. I'm surprised Job didn't consider killing himself. It would have been an easy way to end his pathetic life. Have you ever felt that giving up would simply be the best response? Even ending your own life might seem easier than staying the course?

That's not how Job responded. Instead of being angry and hostile, Job responded honorably and respectfully. He was a faithful Jewish man, who walked the talk that he promoted throughout his lifetime. Just because his life went to hell did not mean that he was going to curse His God who seemed to be daydreaming on an extended vacation.

We get to thinking that this life is all about our expectations being met and not about the agenda that God has for deepening our spiritual lives. We see things in terms of being happy, healthy, and financially secure. When sickness enters the picture or the loss of a loved one, we frequently punch our fists into the air at a seemingly invisible God. Even atheists become theists when things go badly enough, blaming the ominous spirit who doesn't really exist. But, where do we get the right to blame God for misfortune and strife? Is He only our friend when life is good?

I am reminded of the Footprints poem where the person walking along the beach realizes she has not actually been alone during her struggle-filled journey. Upon seeing only one set of footprints, her immediate assumption was that God was absent, gone on a coffee break. She was alone. But, by the end of the poem, God breaks through the chaos and reminds her that He was there the whole time, carrying her in His loving arms. That's why she didn't see two sets of footprints.

If you're going through a time of doubt, loneliness, or tremendous suffering, I hope that you are reminded that God loves you and that His coffee break may be shorter than you think. He might even be in line for two cappuccinos while you're waiting for them to call out your name.

Labels: coffee break, faith, God