Good to the Last Drop

“Still He seeks the fellowship of His people and sends them both sorrows and joys to detach their love from other things and attach it to Himself.” --J.I. Packer, author of Knowing God

"You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in Your bottle. You have recorded each one in Your book." --Psalm 56:8

"[Jehovah] is my Shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; He leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength, He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to His name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for You are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. ...My cup overflows with blessings. Surely Your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life...."  --Excerpts from Psalm 23

I have been thinking a lot lately about the theology of suffering. (If you have already heard some of this from me, I'm sorry, but it has definitely been on my heart.) Over the last couple of years, I have had some friends that have dealt with some very, very difficult problems. As I saw them struggle through pain and grief, I looked at my life and wondered two things:

1. Am I worthy of suffering for Christ?
   
   Paul tells us that we "have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for Him." Timothy tells us to "endure suffering along with [him], as a good soldier of Christ Jesus." And then Paul also says that "what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory [God] will reveal to us later." A lot of this is probably talking about standing up for your faith, not being afraid to tell others about what Christ has done for us and for them, and withstanding persecution. But I think it also means bearing any suffering that comes our way in the manner that Christ did.
2. If--and, more likely, when--suffering comes into my life, will I fail?
   Will I be the kind of person who completely falls apart? Will I retreat into myself or lash out at others? Will I grow numb and emotionless or become afraid of everything? Will I just survive? Or will I thrive?

There were a couple of articles that I read that really helped me with my fear of trials. One, entitled Seven Thoughts on Suffering, encourages readers "to develop a theology of suffering before the dark night comes. You do not wait until you are choking to learn the Heimlich and neither should you wait until you are in the throes of tragedy before learning the reason behind, and the response to, suffering." The other, John Piper's Don't Waste Your Cancer, encourages readers to see God's hand in everything. "It will not do to say that God only uses our cancer but does not design it. What God permits, he permits for a reason. And that reason is his design." David Powlison adds, "Recognizing his designing hand does not make you stoic or dishonest or artificially buoyant. Instead, the reality of God’s design elicits and channels your honest outcry to your one true Savior. God’s design invites honest speech, rather than silencing us into resignation."

Why am I telling you about all of this? Because before God brought us this trial--small though it may be in comparison to what I know many go through--He brought me these truths. So, when we realized that we would never get to hold our tiny, unknown-to-us child, God, as my Shepherd, gently led me back to the right paths--leading me, renewing me, and revealing His unfailing love to me.

That's why the name of God that we are going to look at today is Jehovah-Raah, The Lord My Shepherd.

Rô'eh from which Raah derived, means "shepherd" in Hebrew. A shepherd is one who feeds or leads his flock to pasture. ...An extend translation of this word, rea', is "friend" or "companion." This indicates the intimacy God desires between Himself and His people. When the two words are combined — Jehovah Raah — it can be translated as "The Lord my Friend."

When it comes to those bumps in the road, those dark valleys, or those times of undeniable, irrefutable pain, I want to be able to thrive. Maybe not in ways others can see, but I want to flourish in Christ. I want to be able to love others even when my own problems seem too big for me to handle. I want to be able to bring glory to God in all things, to know Him more, and become more like Him. These past weeks have been an amazing time of acknowledging the nearness of my God. Of seeing the desperate ache of my heart filled by a Heavenly Father who always satisfies. 

I have come to recognize the worth of suffering--temporarily and eternally. And, too, the value of people:

• I am cherished by my Shepherd. He collects my tears in a bottle...I know that He rejoices when I rejoice and sorrows when I sorrow.
• God has created a wonderful thing for us in the family of God. When we experience the love of our brothers and sisters in Christ, we experience the unity God meant for us, and He ministers to us through them.
• Our baby is supremely valuable to God. If I truly want to honor my Little One, then I would not waste a moment of what God might want to do through his or her short life. 

Christ is worth it all. Whatever we endure, whatever we overcome, if we let Him use it to help us know Him more, become more like Him, and help others to know Him, then everything was worthwhile. In a sense, I want to squeeze every last drop out of the difficulties of life. 

I want to blossom.

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