Hidden Treasures

If God is good, then why is there so much pain and evil in the world? This is a question that people have been asking since the dawn of time. Phrased in a thousand different ways, we all are asking the same thing. Fathers beat their children. War kills thousands. Babies die before they take their first breath. A girl’s heart breaks as she watches her father die. No matter who you are, what you have done, and where you have been, you have been hurt and you hurt others. When faced with the reality of suffering, it is so easy to begin asking why. In the pain, we desperately search for answers; some one to blame. We hurt because we were hurt. We invite bitterness into our hearts and let it numb the pain, but it only causes more pain and more shame. When we ask why, when we let our sorrow harden our hearts, it only leaves us empty and hopeless. However, this world; its pain; its despair; its evil doesn’t have to have the final say.

I’m going to be completely honest even though it terrifies me. Throughout this past year and a half since I lost my father in a car crash, I have often found myself asking why and trying to run from the pain at the same time. I thought that I was escaping the pain and sorrow, but really I was letting it isolate me and define me. I took all the grief and anger and brokenness and locked it away in the deepest, darkest corner of my heart thinking that if I hid it, I would be safe from it. I shut people out. I pretended I was okay so I couldn’t be hurt again, but it only caused me more pain. I even shut God out. Sure, I was still following him, but I wasn’t trusting him; not with my wounds; not with my heart. When held at a distance, God becomes a mere concept. When we don’t invite him into our hearts and expose our wounds to him, it creates a wall between us and him. Instead of letting him heal us we demand answers. We are searching for answers when what we really need is a companion.

God as a concept is distant, cruel, angry, and passive but that god is man made. The true God; the Living God is close, loving, compassionate, and protective. King David put it this way in one of his psalms, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed,” (Psalm 34: 18). When he wrote this psalm, he was going through one of the most painful and unstable times in his life. He was separated from everyone he loved and was running from King Saul who was trying to kill him.

A few years before this, God had promised David that he would one day become king when he was only the youngest son of a poor shepherd. The Bible called him a man after God’s own heart and that he was, but that doesn’t mean he was never afraid and his heart never broke. As he was running from Saul, he stopped at the Tabernacle to seek refuge from one of the priest, but instead of telling him what he was really going through, he lied to the priest, telling him that he had been sent by Saul on a “private matter,” (1 Samuel 21: 2). David didn’t know who he could trust. One wrong move could lead to his death, so he didn’t trust anyone; not even a man of God. He became so desperate for protection and shelter that he went to one of the surrounding nations who Israel (his own nation) was at war with. It says, “so David escaped from Saul and went to King Achish of Gath. But the officers of Achish were unhappy about his being there. ‘Isn’t this David, the king of the land?’ they asked. ‘Isn’t he the one the people honor with dances, singing, “Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands”?’ David heard these comments and was very afraid of what King Achish of Gath might do to him. So he pretended to be insane, scratching on doors and drooling down his beard. Finally, King Achish said to his men, “Must you bring me a madman? We already have enough of them around here! Why should I let someone like the be my guest?’” (1 Samuel 21: 10 - 15).

David was at the end of his rope. He was quite literally reduced to madness. I think it’s safe to say that, at this moment, David felt abandoned by God. In verse 12 it says he was “very afraid.” He must have felt as if the world itself had turned against him and maybe even wondered if God was still with him and loved him. When looking at his circumstances, he could find a thousand reasons to turn his back on God and give into despair. However, he wasn’t looking at the world. Instead of looking for answers, he was looking for his Heavenly Father. Instead of asking why, he asked for comfort. David knew how to run to God just as he was.

During his childhood, he spent hours upon hours in the wilderness watching his father’s sheep alone with God. When he was about to face the Giant Philistine warrior, Goliath, in battle, he said to Saul, “...I have been taking care of my father's sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!” (1 Samuel 17: 34 - 35). It was in those early years he spent day after day in the wilderness that he learned to walk with God. God taught him to trust him and to see him in every aspect and season of his life.

By the time David was running for his life with no one to run to for support and comfort, he knew who to go to. God is close to the broken hearted. Walking with him doesn’t mean that our life will be perfect. In fact, Jesus promised us that “in this world (we) will have trouble…” (John 16: 33). However, he also promises never to leave or forsake us, (Hebrews 13: 5). He promises to hold us close to his heart when everything falls apart. It is in those moments of deepest pain and anguish that we experience the depth of his love and grace. He meets us in our brokenness and comforts us.

In the book of Isaiah God says, “...I will go before you, Cyrus and level the mountains. I will smash down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness - secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name,” (Isaiah 45: 2 - 3). The God who knows us; who calls us by name, walks with us through the valley and comforts us in the darkness. He gives us hidden treasures; not the type of treasures that the world gives that depend on our circumstances, but the treasures of his presences and comfort. When we run to him for hope and comfort, we discover that he himself is the only true treasure. When we stop searching for answers and start searching for the Father, we find hope and peace in the midst of the deepest pain.

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about The C.A.N Sisters’ Ministry, leave a comment below, check out our website, or email us at cansistersministry@gmail.com.