Scripture: Psalm 34:19
The righteous have many problems, but the LORD delivers them from every one.
Thought for the Day: Let me confess up front – I just recently saw this quote in a post from Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditations. He referenced holocaust survivor and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl and his famous book, Man’s Search for Meaning. The Forward of the book was written by Rabbi Harold Kushner, best know for the book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People. In the Forward, Kushner writes:
The greatest task for any person is to find meaning in his or her life. Frankl saw three possible sources for meaning: in work (doing something significant), in love (caring for another person), and in courage during difficult times. Suffering in and of itself is meaningless; we give our suffering meaning by the way in which we respond to it…
So often people will say amidst a tragedy, “Where is the meaning in all of this?” It is understandable why someone might ask the question, but the pain-filled ugliness of tragedy is meaningless until we choose to respond. Of course, we can respond in an unhealthy way which usually only intensifies the pain. The Jesus-life can provide a glimpse of what is possible, and points to the goodness God can bring from the tragedy. It doesn’t suggest that God was the cause of the tragedy, only that God was with us in the tragedy and desires for love and grace to, in time, make space for something life-giving to emerge.
Prayer: May the tragedies that come my way be given the space needed for you, O Gracious God, to do what you do. Though I’ll certainly know a range of emotions – anger, fear, anguish, lostness – I believe you are present and working to bring light out of the darkness, resurrection from the grip of death. Amen.
TONIGHT
