'Day One' Blog

Kindness In Suffering

The Lord is
faithful in ALL His words
righteous in ALL His ways
kind in ALL His works
~ Psalm 145:13,17 ~
~

This beautiful truth found in Psalm 145 has been especially meaningful of late. Life is hard these days… very hard. I’m not the only one I know clinging to Jesus like never before.

It’s difficult to find evidence of kindness when you are suffering, or someone you love is suffering. But it’s there. God has had to reshape my view of kindness. I’m picturing a doctor re-breaking an already broken bone so that it will set properly… terribly painful, terribly necessary. And of course in the grand scheme, a great kindness. Context is everything when I think about the possibility that kindness is present in suffering.

If the Psalmist David got it right, when the Lord is at work, kindness is always present. I stop to look across the vast plain of the people in my life right now. I see cancer and abuse and crippling anxiety and loved ones dying. I see mental illness, financial crisis, and demonic influences. I see lethargy and apathy and spiritual weariness so that one battles not to topple over the brink of despair. I see the Church abroad dying for their unwavering commitment to follow Jesus. I see the church at home divided, some fighting tirelessly for Biblical values, others spending their best energy trying to be comfortable morphing along with our modern culture.

That there would be kindness evidenced in some of God’s work is conceivable, but His kindness is present in ALL His works. That’s a far weightier thought for me. I am offered, in the midst of suffering, an invitation to search for the treasure that is the Lord’s kindness. It’s there. And it bears remembering that kindness is a virtue of LOVE. In discovering the Lord’s kindness, I’ve also discovered His love.

Praise you, Lord, for Your kindness, in view or out of view. It’s there, and that is all I need to know to anchor in the midst of my disorientation.

~
I led them with cords of kindness,
with the bands of love,
and I became to them
as one who eases the yoke on their jaws,
and I bent down to them and fed them.
~ Hosea 11:4 ~

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