You have to do something for it…
I spoke to X a while ago. She was having a hard time and, in addition to therapy, she also had medication to better deal with the psychological problems she had. She didn’t mind dying, she said, and that’s why she came for a chat. Those kinds of conversations are always complicated, because you’re usually talking to someone for the first time and what do you know then? Not that much, actually. And with those few tools you have, you have to get to work.
She also indicated that she was “spiritually” active and after some questions that was a kind of Christian. She had a perception of God and when asked who God is for her at this time, her answer was: “my father”. She also indicated that she had to trust that father and that He would have some kind of plan. But yes… the pain of today was there, and after two years of treatment via the GGZ she was actually done with it. She was very lonely, was she the only one with these kinds of problems, and where God was, that was a difficult question for her at this moment. That God had to help her as a father, but when I asked how close she was to that father, whether there were also conversations (or more, or something like that) between that father and her, it turned out that there was no communication between her and The father.
We went to see what the Bible says when we are in such periods in our lives and what does it say about how we can get out of it. We first looked at this piece from the Bible:
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7 having cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares about you. 8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 So resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brothers and sisters who are in the world. 10 After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 5:6-11)
I asked her to read it roughly first and when she was done we could go through it together verse by verse:
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time,
You see a number of things in that verse… God has a mighty hand, He will raise you up, He has a plan, but there is a condition that is stated at the beginning of the verse: “Therefore humble yourselves”. God WOULD LOVE to be your umbrella in the rain, but then you have to come and stand under His umbrella. If you don’t, then you will remain standing in the rain. It is also His umbrella, so His house, with His rules. Just as your house also has your rules (behave when you are visiting), God also has rules. Only if we do the first part of this passage, then we can move on to the rest. So there is a sequence in it…
7 having cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares about you.
Here we see that God wants to hear how you are doing. He loves you and wants to care for you. God’s phone is always on, but you have to give him your worries and problems. So it is your turn to “call Him” first, if you do, He will always pick up His phone. “because He cares about you”
8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
There we see the “rain”. That rain does not come from God, but from “the roaring lion” aka, “the devil”. He gives rain and misery, not God. Then we know from this verse immediately from whom we should not expect it, what we should watch out for and where the misery comes from.
9 So resist him, firm in your faith,
You see there the following what you then have to do, to again “claim” what is yet to come in verses. Trust is therefore a big thing, often difficult, we understand, but there is a key to success in it. Without that trust, crawling under God’s umbrella, with His “house rules” we will not repel those attacks. Because, let’s be honest… we are only human and we are not strong enough to defeat that “roaring lion”. So we need His help.
knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brothers and sisters who are in the world.
That little piece of text gives an immediate answer whether you are the only one with these kinds of problems. Unfortunately, you are not the only one… That “roaring lion” is not only going after you, but also others…
10 After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ,
Doesn’t God care about that? No. You can see that clearly in this passage. “He is the God of all grace”. And in this passage he calls you again, to come to Him, to “his umbrella”. And when you take that step, that “umbrella” is not just for today, but eternal glory in Christ.
will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
If you understand that question of eternity, then you also understand that the rain we see now is temporary. And compared to the rain shower now, that eternity, without rain and misery, is much, much longer. You also see an enormous promise in that piece if you do what is written in the first verses. He then also gives you the strength not to falter anymore, even if it rains today. He has also thought about what the best place for you is, so He does not just put you down somewhere again. So there really is a plan behind it…
11 To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.
And there we see something very important: if we understand and do what the first verses say, then we also understand that we cannot get out of this with our own strength. We are “too weak” in relation to that “roaring lion”. That is why it is so important to understand that God does have the power to defeat that lion. Not only now, but always (so today, and beyond) and forever! That is a promise! Despite the rain, despite all those “lions” we now know what awaits us and who wants to fight for us.
That only means that we also have to do what is written in the first verses. His help is conditional as we have been able to read. Wanting to use God’s umbrella, but not wanting to stand under it, not trusting Him, not “calling” Him and not adhering to His “umbrella” rules is not going to work.
His “telephone” is ready and we made use of it at the end of the conversation. That gives hope for X, to step by step, to stand closer and closer under His umbrella. Voluntarily, without pressure, step by step towards a world without rain…. under The Father’s protection.
