Rogue Waves #4

For centuries mariners have told stories of gigantic waves appearing out of nowhere and capsizing their vessels. Until recently there was no video evidence – until now. Several ships on the Discovery Channel’s hit series “Deadliest Catch” have been rolled over by Rogue Waves. Click on this link, Rogue Wave video, to witness firsthand the power of the sea as the crab ship Northwestern is hit by one. This Rogue Wave is estimated to be 50 feet high and 100 feet wide.

We don’t need visual evidence to prove that “Rogue Waves” hit our lives. Without warning, everyone is hit by one sometime in their lives. Bad things do happen to good people. These negative life experiences come out of nowhere, blindside us, and affect our lives in dramatic ways. It may be a financial reversal, a health issue, a relational conflict, or any one of a number of life-altering events.

The last posting described how God often uses these events to transform our character. It’s at life’s most difficult moments that we tend to turn to God for help. Through the storms of life He slowly molds and shapes our character and conduct to make us more like Jesus Christ. In fact, character transformation is His number one goal for Christ-followers.

But God has other general purposes for allowing bad things to impact us. This posting will examine how God often uses these experiences to expand our hearts to develop greater compassion to those in need.

In 2003 my wife of 30 years passed away unexpectedly. Although I didn’t realize it then, God used this experience to make me more sensitive to others who have lost loved ones. Before my wife died, I felt badly when someone died, but it didn’t grip my heart. After her death, I experienced the heartbreak and loneliness that accompanies loss. I went through times where my emotions were frozen, I was angry towards God and my wife, I became disoriented about my life, and I became anxious about a future without my wife. Now … I get it.

God explains the tenderizing our heart in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” When we go through a time of loss, we experience God’s comfort in a very real way. Then we are better equipped to comfort others when they go through times of trouble.

In the midst of the storm it’s impossible to see – or believe – that eventually the storm will subside. At the time, all we know is that we are in pain. But though God’s comfort, and the comfort of others, over time we begin to experience healing. It doesn’t happen overnight, but at some point we begin to move forward with our lives. It’s only after we are experiencing our own healing that our hearts begin to be drawn to those who are going through similar experiences. Moreover, when we begin to help others deal with their pain, our own pain lessens even more. We gain a new perspective on life and loss, and that new understanding is a lifeline to those who are in need.