IN SPITE OF ALL THEIR LOVE

Saturday, February 07, 2009

In spite of all the love that David and his wife gave their son, he seemed incapable of loving back.
A noted psychologist told them, "Before he's eighteen, your son will either be in jail or dead."

His teen years were the worst years of their lives. His rebellion brought them before the authorities of every educational, penal, and mental institution in the area. He was in and out of almost every counselor's office, every jail, every drug and alcohol rehab center.

Although David had always lived a Christian life he got to the point where he withdrew from everything, everybody and even God. Besides his wife, the one other person who walked with him during these desperate times was a close friend named John. One day David looked at John and said, "I don't want to hear one more come-to-Jesus miracle. Save your stories for someone who cares."

During the darkest days, five friends met David at a chapel for a "prayer intervention." And every Friday for a year and a half, they met at that chapel and prayed. This helped but not enough for David. He went to the chapel one cold night to sit in prayer and wait God out. After reading a while, journaling a while, praying a while, he said he heard God speak.

God said, "If I never heal your son, if I never speak to you the way you want...can I still be your God? Will you still love me, still honor me, still serve me?"

Tears streamed down David's face. "Yes," he said. "Even if you never heal my son, even if you never speak to me in the way I want you to...yes, you can still be my God. And yes, I will still love you, still honor you, still serve you."

(Edited to fit this space from Ken Gire's marvelous book, The North Face of God)