Words to the wise...

"Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him." 1 Corinthians 1:26-29

As I write this to you today I feel conflicted in my heart because there is so much pain and suffering going on in the world around me. I know people who are in pain, who are struggling with circumstances out of their control and then there are those who are being tortured because of no fault of their own. When I got to work this morning I thought it was going to be a day like any other. I was drinking my coffee when I turned on my computer in my office, checking messages from the day before and organizing my desk for the mornings activities. As I was checking my e mail I opened up a message from a friend I work with at another company. I was not prepared for what I was about to read and it changed my whole day. It was an e mail about child abuse and abortions and it had a letter written about a girl who's father got drunk all the time and beat her to a pulp when he came home from the bar. It was one of the saddest things I have ever seen. It told stories about a 3 year old girl who was beaten daily, cursed at and blamed for everything that went on in her house. The story told of a night that her father came home drunk, she heard the car pull up in the driveway and she was terrified as soon as she heard the door of the car open. She tried to be quiet and not say anything that would make her father mad because she knew that he would be upset with her and beat her while cursing at her that everything was her fault. This little girl only wanted to make her father happy, she didn't understand what she had done wrong yet she was punished for it anyway. That night her father beat her to death and it showed the pictures of her bruised 3 year old body, beaten and ripped to shreds. Her face swolen and cut open and her little body black and blue all over. Her father, the one who is supposed to love her and nurture her beat her to death and kept beating her while her little lifeless body lay limp on the floor. As I read that all of my cares and worries went out the window, my life had been put into perspective in one moment just by looking at the evil that is in this world and what actually happens everyday to some poor child or woman or man.
It's so easy to get caught up in our own little world sometimes. To only focus on what is going on with us and the people around us in our bubble that we call our life. It's easy to shut out the outside world and ignore the evil that goes on everyday because we don't see it in our bubble. I find myself, like today, thinking about poor me and what's going on with me and what I'm upset about or mad about because somebody made me mad or isn't treating me right. We avoid the evil things of this world at all costs because it makes us feel uncomfortable and uneasy; it's ugly and messy and we don't want to take the time to put ourselves out there and see what is really going on in the world. We get caught up in our soap operas, TV shows and sporting events so much that we forget how lucky we really are and how much we actually have to be happy about. When I see something like what I saw today it makes me sick to my stomach to think that I was actually mad that someone told me to stop whistling in my office the other day or that I get depressed about other things that have happened to me in my life because I have never felt the pain that this little girl went through in her short life. It's so sad to think that there are children out there that don't know and feel the love of their parents like I do and did when I was a child. It's sad to think about the people who are homeless or are sick that don't have anybody who cares about them and nobody to help them or even give them something to eat. We are so selfish and self-centered people in this society that we can actually feel sorry for ourselves because we didn't get a new car or a plasma TV or the big office or promotion at work when there are people out there with real problems who would give anything to be where we are at today.
I read this passage of scripture in a book that I'm reading by Philip Yancey called what on earth are we missing and it really hit home today. God loves the weak and the ugly, the messy and the poor; God loves the humble and the down and out. God loves a person with a broken heart, someone that has felt pain and suffered for whatever reason because they are on their knees and they are looking up to the sky pleading for help, screaming out for God to save them and to have mercy on them. God wants someone who is humble and weak because they do not boast in themselves, they are not proud of who they are and what they have or what they have accomplished; they have nothing left and they are on their knees with no hope just pleading for someone to save them. That is the kind of heart that we should all have because that is the kind of heart that God is interested in using for Greatness. We should all thank God on our knees everyday that we have hope and love and a Heavenly Father who will never leave us. We should be happy and overflowing with Joy because God has blessed us with so much in our lives and that we have been counted worthy to be a part of His family and that we will be spending eternity in heaven with Him where there will be no more pain or suffering. We should hit our knees and cry out to God and thank Him for everything He has blessed us with and the people in our lives because I don't know a single person who doesn't have someone in their life who loves them and who would be sad if something happened to them. We should be thankful that we aren't like this poor little girl who was neglected and beaten for no reason at all; who never knew love although that's all her little heart ever wanted.
We might feel like this little girl I have been talking about sometimes. Like life is just kicking us around and won't stop until we are dead; and even then it will probably kick us some more after we're gone. It seems like it's just one thing after another and you are wondering when it will ever end, when the suffering will ever stop; what did you do to deserve this pain? When you feel like you are at the end of your rope, when you can't stand another day of the suffering and the pain, when life seems it's darkest and you feel like you can't go on. It's at this moment, when you are on your knees, beaten down and worn out from the stresses and pain that this evil world has inflicted on you; as you sit there with your head in your hands crying wishing it was just over and you didn't have to suffer anymore that you look up and you see Jesus with His nail pierced hands smiling at you holding his scared hand out for you to grab ready to pull you up and wrap you in His arms and give you a warm embrace and tell you He knows and understands. He has been there, He has seen what you are going through and how it has hurt you; He knows what it means to suffer and He died for you so that you wouldn't have to suffer anymore if you would only let Him carry your burdens for you. If you would just put your faith in Him, trust Him to help you carry the weight your load will be immediately lighter, your circumstances might not have changed but you will be carrying your burdens together and He will never let you down or disappoint you.
God chose the foolish things of this world to shame the wise. People will look at you like you are crazy when you are going through hell and all kinds of problems yet you still have a smile on your face and joy in your heart. The world doesn't understand how we as Christians can go through the worst of times and the worst circumstances and still be cheerful and full of joy because they think we are foolish to believe that there is a God who loves us and is always working on our behalf for good. They think it's foolish to trust someone you have never met or seen to take care of us no matter what is going on in our lives. The wisest people in the world are some of the saddest human beings in the world because they don't have hope and they don't have joy and it's all because they refuse to believe in Jesus who is the giver of both hope and joy abundantly.
When you feel like you can't take another breath or another step and you are under too much pressure that you feel like you could buckle under all the weight; look up and shining in the sunlight will be your savior Jesus with a smile on his face and hand extended saying He's been waiting for you. God Bless all of you today and remember what you have and thank God for it every morning you wake up with breath in your lungs. It's not easy to do because we don't think about it but it's something we should all get in the habit of doing because God deserves it.