“George W. Bush is not my president,” my friend stated with vehemence. He, a US citizen, said this repeatedly over the eight year term of our former president. Since he didn’t vote for him, and didn’t like him, he figured he needn’t acknowledge the President as his.
“Barak Obama is not my president,” snorted Etta James at a concert not long after the inaugural ball where her classic signature song, At Last, was sung. Not by her, but Beyoncé. No doubt feeling snubbed, she snubbed right back.
“You’re not my pastor,” said the angry church member. The fact was that the man to which the member referred had been and still was indeed the pastor of the church. But the church member didn’t like his approach, and let this viewpoint be known by severing any hint of ownership whenever his name would arise.
“I don’t believe in God,” says the skeptic. Their experience leads them to say such things regardless of evidence, reason, and the unrelenting faith of millions upon millions of others.
In The Shack, the best-selling work of fiction by author William P. Young, Mack, the stories main character, saw his faith and life falling through a downward spiral. After three and a half years, the Great Sadness remained on his shoulders like a “heavy garment” he wore everywhere he went. Missy, his beautiful, full-of-life six-and-a-half year old daughter was abducted, abused, and killed by a serial killer known as the Little Ladykiller. She was his fifth victim. None of his previous victims’ bodies had ever been recovered. The families of the little girls were simply left with the horror of the unknown.
We all have our version of the Great Sadness, don’t we?
For some, the story is painfully close to Mack’s – Phillip Garridos’ exist, and victims like Jaycee Dugard do, too. Jacob could relate (Genesis 37ff).
For some, it’s illness and death endured by good, young people.
Jairus could relate (Luke 8).
For some, it’s never getting a good break.
The Samaritan woman at the well could relate (John 4).
For some, it’s self inflicted through poor decisions.
David could relate (2 Samuel 11).
For some, it’s losing everything. Job could relate (Job).
When our dreams get dashed in a myriad of ways, sometimes we don’t address the pain at all. We just keep going. Carrying the weight of it all. Our lives increasingly limited by its burden. To be free of the Great Sadness, however, requires us to address it. Otherwise, it will simply and maliciously continue to address us.
The ultimate issue addressed by Mack, and the ultimate issue faced by numerous biblical witnesses before him, is the same ultimate issue we face as we address our Great Sadness. That issue is trust. Do we really trust God with our Great Sadness? We say yes, but do we? Do we in some way blame God? This would imply that we can’t trust God to do right.
If there’s no trust in a relationship, the relationship is sunk. When your relationship with God is sunk, what are you really left with?
The fact is that George W. Bush was the president of the US, and Barak Obama is the president of the US, I am the pastor of this church, and God is still God.
You may not have much motive to work on your relationship with your president or pastor. But, your level of hope for the best possible life now and your confidence in life after the grave is directly related to the health of your relationship with God. So, while you may not have much motive to work on your relationship with the president or your pastor, you’ve got a lot of motivation to nurture your relationship with God. Which means addressing your Great Sadness, and discovering whether or not you can really trust God with it and everything else.
Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power
that comes from God. Eph. 3:19 (NLT)
- What is your Great Sadness that you struggle to address?
- How has your Great Sadness affected your relationship with God? What questions does your Great Sadness raise about God’s character, faithfulness, and power?
- What keeps you from addressing your Great Sadness? How have you dealt with it? How has your Great Sadness dealt with you?How will you take advantage of this series to help you with your Great Sadness, and ultimately, your relationship with God?
- How will you let community help you overcome your Great Sadness?
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