In our darkest hours, He is there

This week in Phoenix there was a sandstorm of historic proportions.  Called a "haboob", it was caused by extremely high winds in advance of a rainstorm.  The winds kicked up dust and sand such that the skies were dark at mid-day.  Haboobs are frequently seen in Saharan Africa and less frequently in the United States' desert southwest.  The term comes from the Arabic,which loosely translated, means "phenomena".

I can't imagine being in a modern city (much less an ancient oasis) when the wind blows so hard that the sand blots out the sun.  All I would be able to do is cover my head and pray that God would take away the darkness, and that He would wash away the dust and debris that hung between me and the Sun.

This must have been how the prophet Jeremiah felt when he wrote in chapter 12

Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease? You have planted them and they have taken root; they grow and bear fruit.  You are always on their lips but far from their hearts.  Yet you know me, O Lord; you see me and test my thoughts about you. Drag them off like sheep to be butchered!  Set them apart for the day of slaughter.  How long will the land lie parched and the grass in every field be withered?  Because those who live in it are wicked, the animals and birds have perished.  Moreover, the people are saying, "He will not see what happens to us." Jeremiah 12.2(b)-4.

The people were so used to the darkness that they thought even God could not see them.  Therefore they were not accountable to Him, and they continued in sin for so long that Jeremiah became weary of their behavior--so much so that he wished God would wipe them off the face of the earth.  The same sentiment is found in Psalm 79:

O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple, they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble.  They have given the dead bodies of your servants as food to the birds of the air, the flesh of your saints to the beasts of the earth.  They have poured out blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury the dead. We are objects of reproach to our neighbors, of scorn and derision to those around us.  How long, O Lord? Will you be angry forever? How long will your jealousy burn like fire?  Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge you, on the kingdoms that do not call on your Name.  (Psalm 79.1-6)

The prophets Jeremiah and Asaph both wanted God's justice on His enemies, and His blessing on His people.  Yet even God's people were blinded.  And God promised swift judgment on them.  And yet, through all this turmoil, God's grace shines like the sun.

This is what the Lord says: "As for all my wicked neighbors who seize the inheritance I gave my people Israel, I will uproot them from their lands and I will uproot the house of Judah from among them. But after I uproot them, I will again have compassion and will bring each of them back to his own inheritance and his own country.  And if they learn well the ways of my people and swear by my name, saying, 'As surely as the Lord lives'--even as they once taught my people to swear by Baal--then they will be established among my people."  (Jeremiah 12.14-16).

God is just where justice is warranted, and merciful when mercy is needed.  We do not know the mind of God--why he allows suffering, or why he allows the wicked to prosper.  But we are commanded to seek the face of God in the midst of our suffering.  Only He can wipe away the dirt that blots out the Son, and only He knows the time and the place that the Son needs to shine.  We are only to obey.  Micah 6.8 says, "He has shown you, O man, what is good and what the Lord desires of you: To know justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly before your God."

We all know justice.  As children, we learn that if we get caught with our hand in the cookie jar, we will get our hand slapped.  As adults, if we drive excessively fast, we will get a speeding ticket.  This is justice.  And we all love mercy--those times when the cop gives us a warning, or your mom forgives you and gives you a cookie.  We only need to act in all humility, for it is not up to us whether we get justice or mercy.  It is in our power to decide whether we give justice or act mercifully.  We just need God's wisdom to tell us which is more appropriate.

Last night my wife and I were watching a movie on the Christian channel.  The woman in the story had committed her life to following God, no matter the cost.  And then she went through some terrible, tragic losses.  She asked her husband why God would treat her that way, after she had committed herself fully to him.  The husband answered, "You made a commitment to God; you did not strike a bargain with Him."  We cannot negotiate with The Almighty.  He does not want us to approach Him with an agenda: if You do this for me, I will do that for You.  He doesn't need your help.  What He does want, with all of His expansive, abundant heart, is to fellowship with you.  He desires for you to leave your sinful nature and your agenda behind, and love Him only.

You may be going through some of the darkest days you have ever known.  Call out to God.  Only He can wash away the dust and debris that separates you from Him.  The phenomena that brings you to this place may be what He has sent in order to drive you to your knees.  You are never closer to heaven than when you are on your knees before God.