“My deliver is coming.” – Rich Mullins via the Jesus Record
Have you ever followed a path into the forest of affliction? No one goes there willingly, but sometimes, like Dorothy in Oz, the path turns weedy, the trees grow angry, and the sky goes dark. We were singing a moment ago and skipping as we looked forward to a glad day, and then a horrible witch flies across the sky on a broomstick and we are stricken with terror. We cringe. We tremble. And we began to chant, “Lions and tigers and bears, Oh my!”
I have recently been reading a most interesting story, “South: The Endurance Expedition”, by Sir Ernest Shackleton. It is a story of tremendous courage in the face of unimaginable adversity. 28 men, armed with curiosity and the King of England’s blessing, started out on the best ship man could build in August of 1914. They hoped to find safe passage across–in their minds–the last great frontier; Antarctica.
He wrote, “The first crossing of the Antarctic continent, from seas to seas via the Pole, apart from its historic value, will be a journey of great scientific importance.” He guessed the journey was roughly 1,800 miles through the Weddell Sea and ice encrusted waters. Their ship had been fortified to withstand the ice and freezing conditions and they were confident of success.
These were not ordinary men. Shackleton and his friends, Wild, Worsley, Clark, Hudson, and the others were hard-scrabble, flinty rocks of men that fought through the ice and survived to tell the tale. They spent nearly two years on their journey, 10 months of which were spent on an iceberg after their ship was consumed by it, and they lost nearly all that they possessed in the process.
They departed with 100 dogs for the land portion of their journey, a ton of whale meat and many other provisions. But the elements were against them. They learned what it means to suffer. Frost bite. Sleepless nights. Hunger. Fear. But they experienced also incredible hope. I have never read such an account of a leader who cared so much for the mental fortitude of his men that he aspired continuously to save them from discouragement. He allowed no grumbling, but instead sought to fill their hearts with hope in order that they might find courage despite despicable odds.
I have been reading this story from the forest of affliction and marveling over the tenacity of these men. Having experienced a recent blow of heartache and disappointment, I have struggled to see a way out. So deep and dark have been the woods that I have often wept with despair. My thoughts of hope failed me and I thrashed with grief. In this state of torment, I distrusted God. I felt the bite of my adversary and groaned. And because I could not find a way out of the forest, I cried out to my friends to come and light the way.
“But now it has come to you, and you are impatient; it touches you, and you are dismayed. For affliction does not come from the dust, nor does trouble sprout from the ground, but man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward.” – Eliphaz via Job 4:5 & 5:6-7
It interests me the things that people say when someone is hurting. When someone is in the bowels of despair, there really are no words of encouragement that can touch them. I have dear, sweet and wonderful friends who have said kind things to me over these past days and for whom I am incredibly grateful, but words have not eased the pain. And that is why when a friend was trying to comfort me I blurted out, “I don’t care if God wants to make me holy! And I’m angry at you for saying that. I ache. And nothing can stop the pain but Him from whom it comes.” And I felt terrible for saying those words, even though they were true. And that is when I fled from human contact and buried my nose in my Bible and considered again the words of Job. Because the very last thing I would ever want to do is hurt the ones I love. And sometimes they truly just don’t know what to do to help.
“I loathe my life; I will give free utterance to my complaint; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. I will say to God, Do not condemn me; let me know why you contend against me.” – Job 10:1-2
Only one who has truly suffered can understand how important it is to be silent and weep with those who weep. Sometimes there is no clear explanation for the pain. This is the essence of depression. Other times the foe is a physical ailment that robs mobility or comfort. Would we say to one in a wheelchair, “Rise and walk! Why are you so lazy?” And so when the heart is so heavy and the burdens are not light, there really is only One person who can comfort the soul. His name is Jesus. And He knew what it meant to suffer.
Near the end of Shackleton’s journey he wrote, “When I look back at those days I have no doubt that Providence guided us, not only across those snowfields, but across the storm-white sea that separated Elephant Island from our landing-place on South Georgia. I know that during that long and racking march of thirty-six hours over the unnamed mountains and glaciers of South Georgia it seemed to me often that we were four, not three. I said nothing to my companions on the point, but afterwards Worsley said to me, “Boss, I had a curious feeling on the march that there was another person with us. Crean confessed to the same idea. One feels ‘the dearth of human words, the roughness of mortal speech’ in trying to describe things intangible, but a record of our journeys would be incomplete without a reference to a subject very near to our hearts.”
“Human effort is not futile, but man fights against the giant forces of Nature in a spirit of humility. One has a sense of dependence on the higher Power.” – Ernest Shackleton
Are you walking through the Forest of Affliction today? Has your heart failed you? Can you not taste and see that the Lord is good? Are dust and ashes your only solace? Have sores covered your skin? Have your relationships ended in darkness or death? Dear friend, take heart! You are not alone. He is with you. Even when you cannot sense his presence, He is there. Tell him all your heart. Tell him your pain. Weep and mourn. It is okay to be sad about sad things. But do not despair. You will come out on the other side if you trust Him.
Leave a Reply