Dear Suffering Disciple,
All is not lost. Today you stand in ashes. It is not meaningless. Not one ounce of it is meaningless. Do not miscarry what is being surgically worked out in you by your good and loving Father in heaven. This would be the greatest tragedy of all. Don’t look to what is seen with human eyes. Lift up those eyes blurred with tears. Lift them up. Take hold of these two things:
1. Your Father in heaven loves you deeply and perfectly.
2. Your Father in heaven is strong and in precise control. Nothing can be added or taken away without his express permission. Nothing has slipped his grasp.
Take hold of these two truths about God. One in your right hand, the other in your left…all may be stripped away as the waves crash over you, but do not let go of these. They will be an anchor for the soul.
“One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving.” Psalm 62:11-12a
Take a Moment and be blessed by this song for suffering disciples:
The Fellowship of a Burning Heart 
Hi Don –regarding the suffering disciple, I wonder what you mean by God is in precise control. Listening to John Piper’s interlude in the song I know what he means by that. The car that careens up onto a sidewalk and killed someone has been pre-determined before the foundations of the world and therefore there is some intrinsic value in the accident itself. Most Christians agree that any tragedy can be turned into something useful or a blessing in the long run, but the Calvinistic fantasy world of determinism is utterly untenable. It all starts with the presupposition that free will has been lost in the fall. But the whole tenor of Scripture is one of God pleading with humans to make right choices–obviously implying that man can choose between good and evil. So if there is free will in this world then it follows that God cannot have meticulous control over everything that happens. In Jeremiah God said it never even entered into his mind what depths the Israelites had fallen into (sacrificing their children). Calvinism turns God into a monster who has preordained all wars in all rapes and child molesting all for some hidden greater good. I should hasten to add that the world is full of really good Christian Calvinists including my father. Some are just ignorant of the full implications, but many find a really deep security in a God that has pre-ordained everything–as John Piper says–even the.dust particles in the sunlight are fully under his control. Nevertheless we need to live in the truth and not in false security. God has created a risky world knowing that many will make bad choices and ruin their lives again his will. Arminianism is far more acceptable in some ways but has its own problems in positing a God who has foreknowledge of the future. This creates many problems which I won’t get into–the problem of God being timeless or in time is a big one. This is why I have chosen Open theology has a better model over the other 2.
Regards Bruce
Thanks Bruce for your insight. I really hadn’t thought of that angle when I posted this…although I see your point. You know when I posted the song, I posted it mainly as an encouragement to christians who are suffering…to receive that suffering, place it in Gods hands and allow him redeem it for his glory and their own good. It’s what makes us more the conquerors…those who Love God and are called according to his purposes…only those will see God redeem and work it all together for their good. The most tragic thing about the sufferings and hardships of most christians today is their failure to run after God in the midst of the carnage and take hold of him and his purposes no matter the cost. Should not our mindset be, “God how can you glorify your name in this mess? and “How can I most glorify your name in this mess?”