The Night Shift

Recently I was having a discussion with one of our kids.  They were deeply troubled {as was I} about a very serious situation happening to someone we all deeply love.  We actually both were crying.  In the midst of our talking, I tried to reassure them that the Lord was faithful.  He could be trusted with this situation.

Through tears they questioned, “But look what happened to you mom when you were young.  How was the Lord faithful then mom?”

The words pierced my heart.

They stung my soul.

And, no doubt, they caught me off-guard.

It caused me to go to prayer.  To adequately answer this difficult question.  A trite response would not do my faithful God justice.

And so I thought, that if it’s coming up in our home these days, it is probably coming up in some of your homes or hearts too, “Where is God when life is beyond painful?”

Please remember, I am not an expert, but can only speak out of my personal experience.

The discussion with my treasure the other day was not easy.  The current situation that we were talking about, well, it grieves our hearts deeply.  We have cried many tears.  Personally, I have to push it out of my mind at times or I become overwhelmed with emotion.

And all around us there are tragedies.  Innocent lives lost or changed forever.

So where is God in it all?

Personally speaking, it is true.  Life for me as a child was filled with painful circumstances.  Abuse abounded.  Unspeakable things happened.  Fear of the night overwhelmed.

And the question lurks in the back of our very human minds:

“Where was God when all that was going on?”

And as I responded to my precious child the other day, “He was right there with me.”

Yet the questioning persisted, “But mom!  Look what happened!  Why didn’t He stop it?”

 Hard questions.  Answers that are hard for our human minds to wrap around.

For me personally, this is what it all boils down to:

God is an abundantly faithful God.

He hates pain.

He hates sin.

He hates to see us hurt.

But we live in a fallen world.  Human beings make painful choices that inflict pain on other human beings.  Tragically, bad things do happen to innocent people.

Yes, it’s true, Almighty God has the power to stop anything that comes our way.  But most of the time, He doesn’t.  He does not interfere with man’s choices.

Why?

He created us each with our own free will.  Some people use their free will to bless others, others use it to wreak havoc in the life of those around them.  

Just as it is with the gift of salvation, He does not ‘make’ anyone do anything.

All of us were created in the image of God.  We each have a choice every.single.day. how we will use each day we are given.   Will we bless others?  Will we hurt others?  And will we spend our day doing what the Lord created us to do?

So back to the original question:

In the midst of painful circumstances where was/is He?

From personal experience here’s where He was for me:

He was comforting me by reminding me of the scriptures I had in my memory.  {I memorized hundreds of verses as a child.}

He was bringing to mind songs from the church I attended, which ministered to my heart.

He continually whispered to me that He loved me and to never give up.

He does indeed, work the night shift!!  

Not a moment in my life lapsed where He was not there.

In His abundant grace the Lord placed people around me who would bring hope to me:  my 3rd grade teacher Mrs. Miller, my 5th grade teacher Miss Christ, my 7th and 8th grade English teacher Mr. Robinson, my Sunday School teacher Miss Andrews, my youth group leaders Mr and Mrs. Hetrick, my choir leader Mr. Larson, my friend’s mom and dad Mr and Mrs. Geis,  my first ever beau S and my friend D from church.

Although none of those eleven people I just listed above had even a slight clue what was going on in my home yet He used each of them to regularly minister to my soul by just being kind to me.  Painfully shy, they each reached out to me and just treated me with respect and grace.

I have no doubt that some of them saw something and prayed for me.

They were His hands and feet.

And today, we, too, are His hands and feet.  We must constantly be looking about for those who need us to be His hands and feet.  They are everywhere!  

God does work the night shift on our behalf and He uses ordinary people in extraordinary ways to be His hands and feet, if we are willing.

God sees every single tear.  He will one day wipe away all tears.  But as we walk through life, He promises to use the pain in our lives to minister to others, if we let Him.

“I will tell of the kindnesses of the Lord,
the deeds for which he is to be praised,
according to all the Lord has done for us”

Isaiah 63:7

20 thoughts on “The Night Shift

  1. Wow! I really needed to hear this today….thank you for sharing your heart, your life, your pain and your experiences. I appreciate your transparency.

    Praying for all of you on your road trip! Love you guys!

  2. Truthfully, you would not be the person you are now if you had not gone through what you did in your childhood. In His sovereignty, he not only LET it happen, He ordained it for you. It was as it was supposed to be. I know that this might sound harsh, but remember that God is God and can do whatever he chooses. And his choices always overrule anything man may choose. So…in shaping you and your resulting tenderhearted spirit and heart that cries out to him, he chose those things for you, because he is God and always knows what is best for his beloved. And you have become a warrior for little helpless ones simply because God wanted you to see firsthand just how horrible life can be. Don't get caught up in God "allowing" something…this statement makes him less than God. He definitely wanted those circumstances for you to shape you into that precious woman that you have become!

  3. Amen and Amen Linny. We don't have all the answers to why bad things happen to good people and innocent children, but it does. You and I both know and understand that, having come from abusive childhoods. God is with us, holding our hands when we are hurting, struggling, or being hurt. I love how you say God has the night watch. Yes, in the darkness He brings light!! Bless you sweet friend for sharing this today. Praying.

  4. Oh how true! How do you explain to a child that God IS with you but doesn't take away the bad stuff? I struggle with this, trying to tell how in hindsight, you can see so clearly how He sent just the right people at just the right time. It's not easy but its plain old faith that brings you through and opens your eyes on the other side. I pray every day that God will use me to be an encourager for folks on a hard path. (I ask Him each day "what's my devine appointment today Lord?!") Sometimes I KNOW when I've had one but most times I don't. Don't you think this is what the Lord had in mind? The course was set and He's not going to just take away our trials but how He loves us! He sends help for every step. Wow!

  5. Oh how this post just spoke to my heart. The title caught my eye as I just spent "the night shift" at the children's hospital with my 3 year-old who had spinal surgery yesterday. Following a seemingly easy day of recovery, it may have been the worst night of our lives….very painful, anxious, and emotional. Amidst all the tears, I could do nothing but pray. What a good reminder that our God is always here with us! He holds us tight through it all. Thank you for blessing my heart this morning. Your sister in Christ, Angie J.

  6. Thank you so much for posting this. It spoke to me in ways you may not be able to imagine – though maybe you will. This issue of "where was God?" is one I am working through. I believe God used you to post this so that I would see it to confirm what has been rising for me very recently. Thank you.

  7. Yes, it is a very hard question, why do innocent people, especially His children, including babies, go through heartbreaking trauma, when we *know* that our Lord could have easily prevented it by sending His angels to protect or to divert so that it does not happen? This can be shattering for some and cause shaky ground on trusting Him, not understanding why that He would permit such horrible things happen to some of us? 🙁

    I have no explanation. Some say it is our free will, He can't prevent it… but He can, because He foresees the future and He let it happen. So hard. I thought perhaps it is because nobody prayed for that person? Or they knew and no action was taken?

    The Lord commands us to do justice, to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, so we KNOW what He wants, and it is to do good, to do justly! He says it over and over in His Word… that is good and comforting to know…

    I guess for those who experienced trauma themselves, can, like you, attest to His presence throughout.

    Sometimes when I hear about our brothers and sisters in Christ in third world countries going through so much suffering, I pray and I ask Him to pour His special peace/presence that surpasses their understanding so that they have His peace throughout to help sustain them.

    Like Job, we don't know why, but we continue to TRUST. Even to death.

    We could look to Yeshua as our example, He suffered so much on the Cross, but it opened up to the joy that was before Him.

  8. Beautiful post, Miss Linny!
    Reminds me of 2 Corinthians 1:3-5
    "3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ."

  9. Wow, I got this same exhortation today at a women's event…to remember that we don't know everything that might be going on in the lives of those around us and it's important to be a source of refreshment to them.

  10. Thanks, Linny, for sharing from your heart. We Christians are definitely His hands, feet, and mouth. And we do have to choose how we're going to help others with them. You blessed me with your post.

  11. Sometimes I think experiences like yours have equipped you to rely more on the Lord and to face the things that have happened to your treasures before they were with you. You might be able to understand your children more because of it. All things work for good to them that love God. As horrible as some things are, they make us who we are. If things we experience lead us to have more consideration, concern, empathy, understanding and awareness of other's plight – the painful experience can be in part, a gift.

  12. As a child of severe abuse, I totally relate to this post. I didn't have much opportunity to go to church when I was young, BUT I do remember praying to God in my circumstances and feeling His peace. It didn't make the abuse stop at that time, but I feel that I am a VERY strong person now. I know one day that I will use these experiences to minister to others. Thank you for sharing.

  13. Thanks for that thought-provoking and inspiring post. I will try to apply it to my son, who because of his mental disorders, is very socially awkward, and at this stage of his life, is not very well accepted by his peers. It breaks my heart to see this, but hopefully I can help myself and him to see Jesus at his side.

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