I Love a Parade

11.15.14

1 Corinthians 2.14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. St. Paul to the Corinthian Church (ESV)

To me it always seems warmer when the temperature is -2º when it is at +15º. Today it is -2º here in Baker, and I can just imagine what -2º is doing in our fair little community: heaters not working, pipes frozen, space heaters selling out, bags upon bags upon bags of ice melt being purchased. And in the midst of it all, with soaring heat bills and plummeting temperatures: Jesus Christ always leads us in triumphal procession.

On my trip to Kenya this past June, this was the verse that stood out in my mind as a planned 36 hour trip turned into a six-day ordeal. Then as I began a new career in July, this verse continues to lead me wherever and however I go. Triumphal procession.

This morning my thoughts have turned to a friend of mine who languishes at his home with advancing stages of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. ALS attacks the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement. This morning, in his increasingly debilitative condition, Jesus Christ leads him in triumphal procession. Another friend posted on Facebook yesterday of the passing of his older brother – he too is being led in triumphal procession through his grief at the loss of his sibling.

Well, what’s the big deal Paul? The big deal is no matter the stuff that life throws at us, the Lord Christ always leads us in triumphal procession – whether or not we understand it, there is a plan and a purpose for everything in our lives and Jesus Christ leads us through it all. The only catch is this: we have to believe He does.

Pain and suffering are a part of life and if we allow pain and suffering to do their work, we’ll be better off for it. Well, Paul, do you mean that ALS or death are things God uses to changes us!? How fair is that!? No matter our pain, no matter our suffering, God is with us in our circumstances – He never uses them against us. Stuff happens, and life is what life is; and life includes pain, suffering, and death. But if we’ll believe it, God is with us in the midst of our pain in order to give us gain. And that means in the midst of pain we don’t want, don’t accept, and cannot understand. Triumphal procession.

God wants us to believe and focus on His leading us through, rather than our momentary issues. He doesn’t promise to take our pain away, He promises to be with us in it; and to lead us through it: triumphal procession.

Father God – one of the mysteries of life is the presence of pain. But the truth is that through our pain You lead us; You guide the way. Pain helps us to focus on You and to grow in ways we never dreamed possible. My prayer is for comfort for those who grieve in their present pain. I pray that Your mercy and grace find a place of sufficiency in their lives and that their difficulties lead them to praise You for leading them – always leading them – in triumphal procession to that place where pain and suffering are no more… Amen.