My God who intervenes

I went away on the student weekend away with my church at the end of the January, and the theme of the weekend was 'the God who intervenes'. A snappy title, with some fantastic talks, but I just became more and more frustrated. I arrived to weekend on the back of the death of a wonderful friend two weeks beforehand, and the last thing I wanted was to hear someone telling me that God intervenes when at that moment I felt that it what I had experience was so far from that.

An easy example that I felt expressed my frustration was Psalm 22.  David starts off with a plea "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?". 

I identify with David's words. Here is a a pitiful cry of pain that we cannot even put into words and that gut wrenching feeling that you get when you identify with the feeling of the author, hearing him as he screams out to God "Why? Why are you not intervening?". What I cannot understand is David's ending, as he finishes with proclaiming God's righteousness "for he has done it." 

How does David get from deep anguish to praise? What happens to him in the middle? 

The story of what happens to me in the middle often goes something very like this: 

I pray...

I cry....

I pray...

I yell at God... 

I pray....

I cry and yell at God

I give up.

I give up on understanding and ignore the pain in order to stop crying and pretend that everything is ok. In reality, I am still stuck at the start of the psalm asking "why". I feel like God has forsaken me,  and what I am really wondering about is if there a breakdown His power or wisdom, and suspect that actually he doesn't love me anymore so that He can't or won't intervene. 

Trying to take a step back from the situation, I look at what I am actually asking for. My requests for God to intervene, it just isn't that at all. I'm asking God to intervene in a specific way that I think is best, at a specific time. And when those requests do not happen, I conclude that God is not intervening.

God does't leave me because of my yelling. He answers my questioning of His power and wisdom and love, with examples of His intervening power, wisdom and love. So many biblical examples, and in my own life: so many miracles, answered prayers and examples of God's wisdom restraining me and guiding me. . My God's power and wisdom is bigger than my doubts and questions and He is gentle in correcting.

But my question of "why" has still not been answered... why would God not answer my prayer in the way that I wanted? Why did not God intervene in the death of my friend? Why does it hurt so bad?

God, why did you say no to intervening in this case? 

I didn't.

God reminds me of my saviour. Jesus Christ was the ultimate intervention, God reaching out to man in love, submitting to torturing and death for my sin that I could have the fulness of life. Even though the world is broken by my sin that brings death into the world, Jesus means that I can never be separated and walk hand in hand with God for eternity without pain, sorrow or suffering.

The truth is that I just don't yet fully understand some important things:

- I don't realise that sin is my biggest problem, and how awful it is. When Jesus obediently went to the cross, that is the largest and most costly intervention that the world will ever witness. God never said "no" to intervention, He has the greater wisdom to see that in this situation, my specific requests weren't the best way. Already, every minute of every day,  he is intervening for each one of us  in ways that I can't imagine, through the cross.

- I don't yet see how glorious Christ is, and and how wonderful heaven will be. Though sanctification can sometimes be like fire, God uses our suffering to make us like Christ, that we may know him better and share in his glory. I am so grateful to know that God loves me too much to leave me in my sinfulness but wants me to become more like Christ. And if I realise how wonderful being with Christ is, I can let go of my friend and commit Doris to Christ with joy, knowing that I will one day see her again in heaven where things are no longer broken. 

David gets to the end of psalm and is able to praise not because God has taken his pain away. He praises because he knows that God intervenes, God will make all things new one day in heaven. He is comforted because God's love is deeper than our pain and that God will never ever forsake his children.

Whether I am praying, crying or yelling, I can praise God for His wisdom, power and love. But like nothing else, I am comforted that because of Christ, God is always intervening and despite my yelling and my doubts, He will never, ever leave me, and will be with me through everything. 

A poignant story of God's intervention and his love was an incidence during the Second World War, in the heart of the Holocaust in 1944. 

6 Jewish men had been rounded up and were being used as an example of punishment. One of them was just 17 years old. They were hanged in front of the rest of the camp, but as the weight of the 17 year old boy was not enough to kill him instantly, others were forced to watch as he suffocated to death. One of the guards shouted out "Where is your God now?". 

One of the Jews pointed to the boy, and simply replied, "right there." 

Because of Christ, we can know God with us despite however bleak the picture and the depth of our hurt. God has saved me. He will never forsake me. He is always intervening.