
Sometimes I think God allows pain in order to get us to the point of admitting what we don’t want to admit.
Recently I was talking with some friends about some very important aspects of my life. We were lamenting in some regards. It was a very hard conversation but beautiful in many ways. We were all sharing what was one our hearts and there was no holding back. But at the same time it was the recognition that deep within we were hurting inside.
And one of my friends said, “I sometimes wonder if God failed?”
There was a long moment of silence as we all let the question sink in. It wasn’t that we had reached a point of nihilism and wanted to give up on God. It was that we had created a space of grace for someone to speak one of the deepest fears we had all felt.
I sometimes wondered if the disciples came to the same conclusion at Golgotha. Seeing Jesus on the cross, I can imagine a few raising their hands at God in the heavens and saying, “Did you fail?”
I walked away recognizing that as much as my pain hurts, it also restores. It frees my soul from my own bullshit. It liberates me from pretension. But it doesn’t leave me there. Friday gave way to Sunday. It calls me to resurrection and hope, to discover my own faith that comes FROM suffering.
What is the one question your suffering is creating?












