This week we have probably all watched the devastation caused by earthquakes. What could we possibly say to a man who has just lost all his loved ones, his home, his treasured possessions and his means of making a living? He stands and weeps. All he possesses in the world are the dusty and torn clothing he is wearing. He has survived an earthquake but lost everything he held dear
What could we say to the woman whose daughter was killed by a Russian missile strike on the hospital where she was being cared for, and another missile has blasted her home into rubble?
What could we say to comfort the young woman thrown into a miserable jail for not wearing the right head covering, or savagely beaten by the police who should have been there to protect her?
What could I say to the young woman, repeatedly raped by her minister in the pulipit and on the font of the church where she worshipped each week?
What could the young Christian solicitor say to his wife as he sat next to her hospital bed after she had lost both her legs after a bus, swerving in a traffic accident, had pinned her to a wall and taken the life of their only little child?
Sometimes, God steps in. On recovering consciousness after the operation, she told her husband how the Lord had come to her and already told her what had happened.
Sometimes words just are not enough. All the situations I have described are real tragedies, several of which I have come across during my years in ministry. There are times in the life of a pastor when words are not enough.
Just such an occasion occurred this week when an email I received from a Christian friend and colleague in ministry told how he had received three lots of bad news in a few days, one being that he had no more than a year to live. What could I say!
At the same time, another Christian friend, who knew nothing of my friend who had been told he was terminally ill, sent a link to a song I had never heard before. It is called “In the Eye of the Storm”. It contains the words:
When the test comes in and the doctor says
I've only got a few months left
It's like a bitter pill I'm swallowing
I can barely take a breath
In the eye of the storm
You remain in control
And in the middle of the war
You guard my soul
You alone are the anchor
When my sails are torn
Your love surrounds me
In the eye of the storm
Sometimes, God steps in!
Ryan Stevenson, the author of the song, might have used the term, “eye of the storm” incorrectly but, if so, that does not matter. We know what he meant. On land, the eye of the hurricane is the moment of calm in the centre of the whirling powerful winds. At sea, the same moment of calm is accompanied by buffeting waves coming from all directions. Sometimes, a moment of calm in the midst of a storm is a prelude to more trials.
I think that it's a great song, and it was almost uncanny that the lyrics include getting bad news from a doctor. You can listen to it by clicking the link below. It ends with the words of Psalm 23 being spoken.
This week, I watched the scenes from Turkey and Syria on my TV. I have been speechless and my soul has groaned as I have tried to pray. Sometimes that is all we can do
JB Phillips translated Romans 8:26-27. “... we do not know how to pray worthily as sons of God, but his Spirit within us is actually praying for us in those agonising longings which never find words. And God who knows the heart’s secrets understands, of course, the Spirit’s intention as he prays for those who love God.” Perhaps our best prayers are said when words are not enough.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2FqFLKisys&list=RDX2FqFLKisys&start_radio=1
Barry - 10th February 2023
Rev Barry Osborne
Founder and CEO
