A favorite writer to follow over the past decade has been Jeff Goins. He’s not a household name, but his writing has been helpful to me in understanding how to 1. be a better writer and 2. build a following. He was my final nudge to move from a traditional blog to Substack.
Last week, he posted what he termed a palette cleanser. A post that was a little less dense and with fewer words. In other words, it was easier to read.
Consider this a palette cleanser from me to you this week.
Waves of Tragedy
Being back in professional ministry for the last decade, I’ve noticed tragedy seems to hit our church in waves. We are in the midst of one of those waves.
As I was leaving for Brazil, one of our long-time members passed away. Wally Glanville was a rock for many in our church. His life was easy to celebrate, but he is missed. Another of our members was just diagnosed with cancer…that has spread throughout her body. She has been a leader for dozens of men and women to look up to over the last decade. The prognosis is grim. Another family, not part of our congregation, but deeply involved in my kid’s school, lost their father unexpectedly just a week ago. He leaves his wife to console a daughter in college and a high school senior son. It left his mother questioning the goodness of God.
This season is a wave of disappointment.
God is not a principle.
I don’t particularly like the Book of Job. It is difficult to parse what is true of God and what is a misunderstanding of who God is. But the Bible reading plan I’m walking through has me in Job. Truthfully, it has been a blessing as I wrestle with the same heartache that so many around me are feeling.
2 ways we’re like Job…
As I’ve read through Job, I see how pain has a similar effect on all of us in two areas:
We question God. We wrestle with God’s goodness, His presence in our lives, His fairness toward us, and even God’s reality.
We turn inward. These thoughts lead us to think only about ourselves (or the unfairness of another’s success while I’m in pain).
…2 reasons this matters…
Let me let you in on two of the secrets of Job.
Your feelings are valid. Job sat in this place for…weeks. He was never scolded for this aspect of his actions. For you, it could be days, weeks, or months.
There are not always easy, pat, tied-with-a-bow answers. This may be the most uncomfortable aspect of pain for a faithful follower of Jesus.
1 BIG takeaway
But let me share with you the true glory of Job. This is where you take heart ❤️
In the end, God appears.
God will appear to you as well. Job’s questions weren’t exactly answered, but it didn’t matter because he ‘saw’ God.
So keep asking your questions. Continue to feel your feelings. Don’t stop seeking the truth. God is not found in a principle shared on Twitter (or Threads). He’s so much better.
In the end, God will appear to you.
Writing Playlist
I don’t know if we have the same taste in music, but here are some songs to explore. All the links go to Spotify. While writing this post, this is some of what I was listening to:
Fall Like Rain - Passion + Rachel Halbach (two weeks in a row)
SLIDIN - indie tribe
Isn’t Everything a Love Song - Drew Holcombe + The Neighbors, Johnnyswim