How Long, Lord? by Chase Butler
http://www.identitynetwork.net/Articles-?blogid=2093&view=post&articleid=150414&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=Chase%20Butler&fldTopic=0
By Chase Butler
I walked into my client's office and immediately knew something was wrong. "I'm sorry, Chase, but I'm not going to have much time today." I knew him to be a busy guy but he had a serious and sad tone about him. He went on, "To be honest, my marriage is falling apart." He looked exhausted and defeated. The only thing I could muster was, "I am so, so sorry." And I truly was. We talked for a few more brief moments, then I left. I walked back to my car and sat in the silence. The first line of Psalm 13 immediately came to mind: "How long, Lord?"
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I walked into my client's office and immediately knew something was wrong. "I'm sorry, Chase, but I'm not going to have much time today." I knew him to be a busy guy but he had a serious and sad tone about him.
He went on, "To be honest, my marriage is falling apart." He looked exhausted and defeated. The only thing I could muster was, "I am so, so sorry." And I truly was. We talked for a few more brief moments, then I left.
I walked back to my car and sat in the silence. The first line of Psalm 13 immediately came to mind:
"How long, Lord?"
These words represent the longing of any and all who have suffered. The lament continues,
"Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?
Look on me and answer, Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, and my enemy will say, 'I have overcome him,' and my foes rejoice when I fall."
The Psalmist puts into words what I've often felt. I'm sure you share the same feeling in one way or another. We've all, at some point, begged the question, "How long, Lord?"
A story of this magnitude exists under the surface for many of us: a loved one with cancer, a death in the family, a broken relationship, financial struggle, disappointment, failures, depression.
Yet, even still, we choose to hope. The Psalm continues,
"But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the Lord's praise, for he has been good to me."
I think my temptation at this point is to try to wrap this post up with something hopeful or optimistic, but I think lamenting has its place.
So reader, if you are like my client and feel hopeless at the prospect of what tomorrow holds, I will say the same thing to you that I said to him...I am so, so sorry.
I really don't know if it will get any better, but I do know that when I place my trust in an unfailing love, and center my heart on goodness, I encounter joy that transcends my circumstances. And at the end of my lamenting, I can pencil in my "but..."
Chase Butler
http://www.identitynetwork.net/Articles-?blogid=2093&url=10&view=post&articleid=234074&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=Chase%20Butler&fldTopic=0
There seems to be a recurring topic that continues to come up in my life—the balance between contentment and goals. Do I appreciate what I have, and am I working towards something meaningful that forces me to grow? An either/or approach never works. On one hand, you lend yourself to apathy and stagnation. On the other, you live under the tyranny of nothing ever being enough, endless striving that costs you something you never intended. I don't pretend to have this figured out. Every once in a while, I sense the alignment between the two within myself, but it's normally a fleeting moment followed by the pendulum tipping back towards one side.
http://www.identitynetwork.net/Articles-?blogid=2093&url=10&view=post&articleid=233123&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=Chase%20Butler&fldTopic=0
There are moments when I long for an answer, clarity, inspiration, relief, or hope and receive nothing. Even in earnest seeking, eager anticipation, a proper posture, an open heart, a willing spirit—nothing. Then there are moments when I receive an answer, clarity, inspiration, relief, and hope when I least expect it. Not seeking, not anticipating, yet a glimpse is given. So what to conclude?
http://www.identitynetwork.net/Articles-?blogid=2093&url=10&view=post&articleid=231499&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=Chase%20Butler&fldTopic=0
If the idea of selling everything and living out of a backpack on the road sounds like a nightmare instead of a grand adventure, this post might not be for you. If challenging the status quo and questioning societal norms in the pursuit of a full and satisfying life sounds intriguing, then let's continue. The beauty of friendship is that conversations tend to draw out aspects of yourself that otherwise would have been left untouched and dormant, or at the very least overlooked or ignored.
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