THE NON-ANXIOUS PRESENCE 2

"Problems are not solved until we attack them as intelligent beings. We suffer in our attempt to escape his obvious fact. Wailing about diphtheria for centuries got us nowhere. Robert Koch began to grow bacteria on his wife's kitchen stove. The end was diphtheria antitoxin, and diphtheria has been practically wiped of the face of the earth. Perhaps this was the answer to centuries of prayer. My father, a very devout man, believed a striving to the limit in a worthy cause constituted the most eloquent form of prayer" (Arthur E. Hertzler, M.D.).

"Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy" (Psalms 126:5).

I know a psychologist who understands non-anxious presence. His practice is to not speak until his client speaks to him. A client came for an appointment and didn't say anything. The client walked to the corner of the office, lay down on the carpeted floor in a fetal position and stayed that way for the fifty-minute session. No words were ever spoken, but just having some one understand and be accepting is powerful. God is that way. He does understand our pain and He loves us inspite of our failures, sins and mistakes. The Bible describes the Messiah as the Wonderful Counselor. The Holy Spirit is another counselor who is the Paraclete, the one who walks along side, the Comforter. The Bible is clear, God is love and He loves every human being.

It is also true that we live in a world that is, in the words of Paul, "in bondage to decay." It is a fallen world in which we live. There is sickness, there is hate, there is death, there is greed, there is lust, there is unfaithfulness, and there are weeds, to name a few. God allows this. He has given us freedom to deal with this fallen world in practical ways. That is why we have civil law, science, medicine and herbicides.

Suppose God always dealt with our prayers by a miracle or direct intervention of some sort. We would have never learned, progressed or achieved except in learned helplessness. Think of the blessings we enjoy as a result of the sweat, pain and sacrifices of those who have gone before us. Perhaps one of the reasons God wants us to deal with the effects of the fall in these ways is so that we will understand that salvation and wholeness can not be brought about without pain, sacrifice and death.

Am I saying that God has not been involved in the progress that we have enjoyed on this planet? No! But His non-anxious presence has provided the comfort and sustenance necessary for the achievment of the comforts and blessings of our lives today. Soren Keirkegaard is said to have said, "Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays."

God's non-anxious presence changes us.

Grace&Peace,
Tom