First One There...Last One To Leave

What a crazy several weeks it has been. There has been massive devastation in the Southeast US, historically disastrous flooding in Chiang Mai as well as rain and bombs continuing to shower down on Burma. Historic tragedy has ripped through all these places causing widespread destruction, unprecedented loss of life and sorrow to so many. It feels like war is raging all around us on many fronts and realms.

These are the times, in my life at least, where the enemy is on full attack, trying to distract from the work God has put before me. Sometimes, it’s with lots of things that are seemingly “good” but not what God wants me to focus on. On the other end of the spectrum, it’s the shame of feeling like I’m not doing enough to help. Most troubling are the little fringe thoughts the enemy tries to plant about God’s role in everything we are experiencing. How can God be in all of this? How could He allow such devastation and pain? No matter how much of the goodness of Jesus I experience and miracles I witness, when situations get super tough around me, I can’t help but entertain those thoughts, however briefly, from time to time. Lord, help my unbelief. Anyone out there feel me?

There is an old movie entitled, “We Were Soldiers” based on a major battle in the Vietnam war. There is a poignant scene where General Hal Moore (played by Mel Gibson) is giving a speech to soldiers and their families as they prepare to leave for war. After painting a beautiful picture of what togetherness looks like, he plainly states, “I cannot promise you that I will bring you all home alive, but this I swear…when we go into battle, I will be the first to set foot on the field and I will be the last to step off...and I will leave no one behind. We will all come home together.”

Jesus’ promise is similar. He never promises us safety in this world. It’s fallen. There is tragedy. There is war. There is pain, and all this hurts His heart more than I can ever fathom. However, He DOES promise He will always be with us through all of the valleys we inevitably must travel. Similar to General Moore, Jesus is not asking us to go and do something or to go and suffer something He himself isn’t already enduring.

Jesus is already there. He’s not asking us to “go”; He’s asking us to “come.”

His foot is already on the ground, and He is waiting for us to join Him where there is suffering and hard yards to be gained. This is where Christlikeness is forged and real life is lived.  The pastor at our church here in Chiang Mai recently put it this way when he said, “The road to glory with Jesus passes through the valley of suffering.” It’s such a blessed assurance to know no matter the suffering, Jesus is with us; He will be the first one there and the last one to leave. One of our Karen brothers recently said, “When there is suffering, I dare not complain because God is already there and He will show us the way to go through.” Man…can’t say it any better than that.

I’m not purporting to answer the age old question of “why bad things happen to good people” in a couple page blog. However, I hope you have been encouraged that whatever hardships you or those in your circle are enduring with all the events of the past several weeks, Jesus is already there and He will be bringing everyone home one day. So where is God in all of this? He’s right there with those suffering the unimaginable inviting us all to come and serve with Him.