by Rev. Mark Creech
RevMarkCreech.org
There are moments in the life of faith when we find ourselves wrestling not with unbelief, but with the mystery of God’s nature. We know Him, and yet at times we hardly know how to understand the way He moves. We trust Him, yet we often struggle to discern His hand. When life presses heavily against us, we may feel caught between His tenderness and the weight of His holiness. It can seem, at times, as though He is both gentle and stern, gracious and unyielding.
My father was a man like this. He could be kind and nurturing, able to make me feel ten feet tall with a word or a smile. When he encouraged me, it seemed as though the world opened before me. But he also carried a strength that required no explanation, and like God, he didn’t always provide one. His commands were explanation enough. Sometimes, if the potential of discipline seemed imminent, he didn’t need to raise his voice or speak a harsh word – all it took was a look. That look could reach me deeper than any warning or scolding ever could. He could be long-suffering with me, but there were moments when his patience had reached its measure, and I knew it. Yet I never doubted his love. What I learned from him was that the same heart that comforts also corrects, and the same love that lifts us can also firm our steps. I have come to see that God deals with His children in much the same fashion.
Scripture invites us to behold this tension. “Behold the goodness and severity of God” (Romans 11:22), Paul writes – not to confuse us, but to teach us that the fullness of God cannot be contained in our little boxes of comprehension. He is too grand, too vast, too holy to be reduced. God is merciful and just, patient and pure, a Father who holds His children close to His bosom, and a Lord who calls them to fear His name.
We know well the God of grace. We have felt His kindness in our failures, His forgiveness in our repentance, His nearness in our tears. We have heard Him speak peace into storms that raged within us, and we have known what it is to be steadied by a benevolence we did not earn. Yet there is also the God who refines, who leads us through seasons that are long and quiet, harsh and cold, where our faith must increase in ways unseen.
The same hands that comfort us also painfully shape us. The same voice that rebukes us also strengthens our resolve. The same God who tells us not to be afraid is the same God whose providence ordered our fearful situation. The Lion and the Lamb are not two different Gods. They are the same One.
We do not need to understand every season of suffering for God to carry us through it. We do not need to comprehend the purpose behind each struggle to be safely led by His hand. We only need to stay close to Him.
In days of old, it is said that the silversmith would place the metal into the fire, where the heat was hot enough to draw out what did not belong, yet not so hot that it would damage what was precious. The silversmith would never leave the flame unattended. He watched with care, with precision, with intent. He knew the refining was complete when he could see his own reflection in the surface of the silver.
So, it is with God.
How difficult it is to understand this God who can be both loving and angry, gentle and unyielding, a refuge and a refining fire.
This God, who is like a lamb, also thunders from Mt. Sinai.
This God who binds up our wounds also pierces the conscience.
This God who whispers peace also speaks to wage war against evil.
This God who remains silent also speaks with a voice that shakes the whole earth.
This God who opens His arms wide also discriminates between truth and falsehood.
This God who bends low to wash our feet also treads the winepress of justice.
This God who comforts the crushed in spirit also resists the proud.
This God who remembers we are but dust also elevates us above the angels.
This God who welcomes sinners also casts the unrepentant into hell.
This God who draws near in mercy also withdraws to teach us to seek Him.
This God who is our Shepherd is also our Sovereign.
Yet this God does not possess a divided nature; He is One. He is undivided, unconflicted, and perfectly whole. He is perfectly wise and the essence of love.
He may choose to explain His ways, but He is not obligated to do so, nor will He always do so. The revelation He has given us of Himself in His Word and His commands is sufficient. Our one assurance is this alone: when we obey Him with a childlike faith, our own person is made whole, even as He is whole.
