How do we rest in the Lord when bad things happen, A letter to my son

 "Why do bad things happen?"I have asked myself this question repeatedly during the last year and I came across some old music that I sang in High School, the song was called, “Oh Rest in the Lord.”  It is from Psalm 37 and never has it spoken to me in a more profound way.  When I sang that song in a solo contest as a 17-year old, I loved the melodious sounds yet did not focus on the true meaning of those words. 

“Commit thy way unto him and rest in him, and fret not your self because of evil doers.  O rest in the Lord, wait patiently for him” It helped me to cope with the grief of having my son in prison. Oh, how I want you to know that I now must wait patiently for Him.  I wait for Him to fill me with patience and understanding that no mother could ever know unless she herself has experienced the loss of son to prison.  I have felt so lost and hopeless during this last year and the only way that I could get through it was to have a deep abiding faith in God.  Know that there is no trust in man; you must give it to God. 

I finally realized after much prayer and discernment that nowhere in the Bible does it say we will live a life of pure happiness, only that He awaits us in Heaven.  All of us have suffered loss, or been harmed by others, or passed through times of trouble and discouragement. The question is, "Why does God let it happen?" Is He really in control? If I am a Christian, a child of God why did He let you suffer, go through this pain and agony, and allow us to feel that He is was not there to answer our prayers?  

When bad things happen, we feel grief, sadness, anger and despair. I asked myself, “Could God have prevented it?”  The answer maybe, is yes!  But the Devil takes reigns upon the earth, ruining the souls of man.  So, I asked myself, “Why does He allow us to go through troubling times?” Then I had to look at this through God's point of view. Things and people on this earth are not to be "trusted." By that I mean we must put faith in God, not things here on earth. Just like parents let their children go out into the world and experience pain, grief, sorrow, and happiness, so does our Father in Heaven.  So, to help you understand why things happen to us, we shall look at the Psalms chapter 37.

Psalm 37

“Do not fret because of evildoers, Be not envious toward wrong doers. For they will wither quickly like the grass and fade like the green herb. Trust in the Lord and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord.”

If you look at the Hebrew word for “Trust” baw-takh, which comes from the khaw-saw which means flee for protection or shelter. So, we are always to seek shelter in the Lord.  As we read further in verse seven is says “Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him;” again we will look at the Hebrew for “wait patiently.” That comes from the Hebrew chuwl or chiyl which can mean to writhe in pain or fear. The best word in English could be to “Endure”.

So, we must endure hard times and lean on the Lord in these hard times. I heard someone say it this way.” I travel by airplane a lot, yet I never fear from flying. In fact, I put my complete trust in a pilot and co-pilot that I do not even know.” I on the other hand am consumed with fear and do not feel comfortable flying and the only way that I can feel safe is to pray to God when I fly on a plane, although I am consumed by fear, He leads me to peace.  What we need to do is put our complete trust in God and He wants us to know Him more and more!

Yes, bad things will happen to us while we grow in Christ. Do you feel consumed by your circumstances? This is the time when we need to khaw-saw in Christ. Let Him shelter us. As a parent, I sometimes told you to listen to me because I knew better. But you didn’t listen, you had to learn for yourself because God gave you free will.   We too, must understand that our Father in Heaven knows better.  Trials and tribulations get put before us and the Lord must be our strength in those times.  As your mother I was afraid for you, I only wanted what was best for you and God knows what is best for us, when sometimes we don’t even understand it.  Now after taking those classes, you understand what it was that I was trying to tell you, but you had to learn it for yourself.  You see, God does the same things to us.  He is our Father, but he gives us free will.  We choose to follow him or not but if we err in what we do and return to Him, His love is unconditional, and He will lead us home like the prodigal son.

I encourage you to read and study Psalm 37 and learn what David was talking about. Must Jesus bear the cross alone, and all the world go free? No, there’s a cross for everyone. We have all sinned and fall short of the Glory of God. Adam & Eve had a choice, and they chose to be like the Gods having knowledge of good and evil, rather than live forever. Only Jesus was good and perfect. That is why his blood was the only sacrifice that could save us from the penalty of our sins (death). I too have gone through many traumas, hard times, grief and struggles, from childhood on until now.  When I was a kid I walked through a glass door and almost bled to death, when you were born you almost died because of the Meckel's Diverticulum, your younger brother was born with severely crossed eyes and had lots of surgery,  Your other brother was blue at birth with a low apgar score and now he has a disability, and your youngest brother was born with all his organs reversed and I know that I only perservered because God was with me through all of those trials, and I got to know Him better, and became closer to Him.

It is so hard to live in this world today and I fear for you and all the children of this world.   I have learned to think about what Jesus went through, He who suffered, was humiliated, beaten until He was unrecognizable, and then was put on the cross that He had to carry to Calvary. And while hanging there asked forgiveness for the very ones that were killing him. If I think about that, when I am going through, I can only Thank God for Jesus. Remember Satan is in this world seeking whom he can steal, kill or destroy. Jesus came that we may have life abundant. This is the Gospel. Trust and obey.

You must know him to trust him, and you must know His law to obey. We learn through trial and error. usually through hard times, not good times. I then can also reflect on Mary; the Holy Mother of God and I too know her pain and sorrow.  What she endured in silence when she saw what He was going through.  Just as I see and feel for you as you carry the burden of being in prison.  She was filled with fear just as I, yet I call on her to also help and strengthen me. 

May the Lord Bless you and keep you, and may He send his angels to stand guard over you and protect you all the days of your life.  May Mary, the Mother of God cover you with the mantle of her love and protection.