Face of God
Do you ever wonder what God is thinking when He is asking you to go through the various trials that pop up throughout your life? Have you ever thought that maybe God is glad when you have to carry your cross because you will be suffering with Him and that you will know how He feels? Or perhaps that God wants to teach you a lesson and so he gladly sends you these sufferings to help you learn a virtue or be detached from something. St. Therese wondered the same thing.
These are the words of St. Therese, "How can the good God, who loves us so much, be happy when we suffer?" St. Therese must have spent some time herself contemplating this idea before God inspired with His true answer. She continues by saying, "Never does our Suffering make Him happy but it is necessary for us; and so He sends it to us while, as it were, turning away His face...I assure you that it costs Him dearly to fill us with bitterness."
What a beautiful image this is of God's tender mercy for us- that knowing He must give us this difficult cross of suffering to carry- He actually turns His face away, so as not to watch, because it hurts Him so dearly to see us in pain.
What a radically different approach to this answer. How precious we must be in the eyes of God that He would feel so much pain each time we have to suffer. But, as we all know, a true friend does not leave when the road gets tough, and how much more so that this is true for God. Even while He must send us these gifts of suffering in His mercy for our own good, He remains with us and suffers in us- so we are never alone!
How awesome is our God that He wishes to suffer still, so that we may not suffer alone.
Looking at our trials in this light, is it easier now to accept these precious gifts from our Beloved?
“Love that does not know of suffering is not worthy of the name.” ~St. Clare of Assisi
These are the words of St. Therese, "How can the good God, who loves us so much, be happy when we suffer?" St. Therese must have spent some time herself contemplating this idea before God inspired with His true answer. She continues by saying, "Never does our Suffering make Him happy but it is necessary for us; and so He sends it to us while, as it were, turning away His face...I assure you that it costs Him dearly to fill us with bitterness."
What a beautiful image this is of God's tender mercy for us- that knowing He must give us this difficult cross of suffering to carry- He actually turns His face away, so as not to watch, because it hurts Him so dearly to see us in pain.
What a radically different approach to this answer. How precious we must be in the eyes of God that He would feel so much pain each time we have to suffer. But, as we all know, a true friend does not leave when the road gets tough, and how much more so that this is true for God. Even while He must send us these gifts of suffering in His mercy for our own good, He remains with us and suffers in us- so we are never alone!
How awesome is our God that He wishes to suffer still, so that we may not suffer alone.
Looking at our trials in this light, is it easier now to accept these precious gifts from our Beloved?
“Love that does not know of suffering is not worthy of the name.” ~St. Clare of Assisi
Comments
Post a Comment