Thoughts which lead me to Jesus, and the cross, where I find comfort and peace!

“LORD, I know that our lives don’t really belong to us. We can’t control our own lives.” (Jeremiah 10:23, NCV)

“Since you were raised from the dead with Christ, aim at what is in heaven, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Think only about the things in heaven, not the things on earth. Your old sinful self has died, and your new life is kept with Christ in God. Christ is your life, and when he comes again, you will share in his glory.” (Colossians 3:1–4, NCV)

Christian or spiritual peace, however, just turns the thing about, so that outwardly the evil remains, as enemies, sickness, poverty, sin, death and the devil. These are there and never desist, encompassing us on every side; nevertheless, within there is peace, strength and comfort in the heart, so that the heart cares for no evil, is really bolder and more joyful in its presence than in its absence.

Siddharta Budha, the great philosopher, has been credited with saying that, “life is suffering.” And at first glance, there is a lot that supports his premise.

Most people aren’t content with their lives, whether young or old, rich or poor. It doesn’t matter their sex, if you can slow them down to examine their life, they will soon want to move onto something else.

Some try to change their lives, constantly changing jobs, or sexual partners, moving from here to their, each stop shorter and shorter and shorter, as they, like the old song says, “still haven’t found what I’m looking for!”

Others become focused on others’ lives to distract them from their own meaninglessness. Some do this critically, even hypocritically, Those people are evil, stupid, wrong and a million other things. Others do just the opposite, trying to find some meaning in becoming martyrs, sacrificing time and energy serving others to the point of exhaustion, rather than dealing with their own issues of brokenness and emptiness.

Siddharta was partially correct, there is a lot of suffering in life, any one’s life. And while we would do anything we could to change that, most things only make it worse, or draw more attention to the suffering.

The prophet Jeremiah notes that inability in the quote above – we don’t have control over our lives, we can’t fix what we think is broken. We aren’t in charge because either sin, which causes the brokenness and separation, has is in bondage, or we are  God’s children does.

Belonging to Christ, being purchased with His blood shed as He died for us on the cross, changes everything about what we know and experience in suffering. Are attention focuses on the end of the story, the hope we have of dwelling in Christ for eternity, and that hope reveals God’s presence with us in the present moment. Paul’s amazing words in Colossians 3 bear this out, as he says our reality is not in the midst of the suffering, but in heaven with Jesus and the Father! ANd it is secure there, until His return when…this is beyond anything else, we will share in His glory!”

This is why Luther, no stranger to suffering, oppression and challenges in can write as he does, that within there is comfort strength and peace known deep within, and we have a heart bolder and more joyful when the storms outside are more threatening. (You can see this in Elijah – as long as he is fighting the prophets of Ba’al, he’s awesome…no fight and he whimpers and whines in the cave)

This is what Siddharta wasn’t illuminated enough to see, this presence of God in the lives of people. The comfort and peace which, when encountered, results in the most incredible joy.

For life includes suffering, and sometimes that threatens to overwhelm us, but it cannot, for the Lord God is here.. loving us, comforting us, sharing life with us.

And that will be true until we are before His throne.

Luther, Martin, and John Sander. 1915. Devotional Readings from Luther’s Works for Every Day of the Year. Rock Island, IL: Augustana Book Concern.