So I was in my room having a PTSD pity-party. I was, yet again, probably going to miss out on an event (seeing some of me besties) that’d I’d been looking forward too.
Then….I heard music. LOUD MUSIC.
Not just “music” but I heard my two oldest boys JAMMIN’ downstairs.
I shut my eyes and simply enjoyed the awe that hearing their art brought me.
Enjoying the progress of their developing talents. Helping me realize that this little pity-party is unnecessary as I am about one of the most blessed people I know.
So, thanx my handsome boys for making your Momma feel uplifted when you didn’t even know you were doing it 🙂
(and for the making the video even though you didn’t ‘get’ how hearing you play made me feel so much better…nor did you have any clue why I’d wanna put it on my blog 😉
(and for the making the video even though you didn’t ‘get’ how hearing you play made me feel so much better…nor did you have any clue why I’d wanna put it on my blog 😉
Now…about feeling “blessed”.
I heard a phrase the other day that has me really confused.
Here’s the phrase:
“It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until He has hurt him deeply.” A.W. Tozer
I simply can’t get my head around this statement.
I’ve tried to find the body of writing that came before and after this statement, made by Towzer sometime during his life ((April 21, 1897 – May 12, 1963 and probably within one of the 40 books he wrote), but I cannot.
As a result, I am giving ‘credit’ for it being slightly out of context, possibly? But, even then, I don’t see this being accurate from a biblical perspective. (his opinion, yes..but still? really?)
I see God punish, provide/allow tests/trials, condone war, issue plagues, etc.
But I do NOT see where only GREAT blessings comes after God has ON PURPOSE but a believer through a “fire” or a “deep hurt”.
I am the perfect example of a Christ-follower who is stronger in her beliefs after having gone through trials….but….I felt GREATLY blessed before any of my “DEEP” hurts occurred.
The “great blessings” I feel now do feel different but surely that has to do with age, maturity, etc….No ONLY the “great hurts” I’ve experienced.
Yes, I was younger but age doesn’t play a huge role in the Bible. Think David, Samuel, and Joseph. All used at very young ages.
That implies that a teen can feel “greatly blessed”.
As a teen, in many areas of my life, I felt great blessing.
Was my relationship with God as intimate then as now? No. But, intimacy comes with TIME as well as trials. Trials or hurt or pain just cannot be the only way to experience GREAT blessings.
I realize this is Towzer’s opinion. He did not quote scripture. He did say, “It is highly doubtful…” etc.
However, seeing that he was a famous preacher, his stated opinions are often “taught”, “re-used”, and quoted more often than an average person’s opinions would be.
Does this not require a more a bit more due diligence on a person’s part? Maybe he was mis-quoted and he did not say these exact words. Unfortunately, he is not longer living or would have had him on the phone by now!
Truly, these words have bothered me greatly.
I know the God I love has righteous and vengeful anger. I know He does not cower from protecting His people.
But I also don’t see where His word even comes close to saying something like, “To be greatly blessed I will put you through great hurt.”
I see where it says, “To suffer to pure joy.” Or “God can make good out of all.”
Anyways, I’ve been wracking my brain for an individual mentioned in the Bible who was “greatly blessed” without “deep hurt”.
(and “greatly blessed” is based upon personal interpretation I suppose? To some…running water is a “great blessing” to others it is a “new car” to others it is “loyal friends”)….
I cannot think of one but there has to be!
Or even an individual, not mentioned in Bible per se, that has been richly blessed but has not experienced “deep hurt”
(again…”deep hurt” being up to personal interpretation but surely “deep hurt” would involve loss, physical pain, severe mental anguish, etc.)
PLEASE HELP ME THINK OF SOMEONE…IS IT YOU?!
I seriously need to work through this in my head.
I feel “stuck” spiritually until I do.
(not ‘stuck’ like I ‘give up’ but ‘stuck’ in that it is encompassing my spiritual thought process)
COME ON READERS…Help a girl out!
Since Towzer is no longer available for a phone call…..YOU all are “my Towzer”.
PLEASE give me your thoughts…SERIOUSLY please.
Because at this point…I am taking my frustration out on my twin sister. 🙂
Andrea
(don’t let the silly pix rabbit-trail ya…you gotta give me your thought on my post…you simply gotta or I shall remain “stuck”…and it could get alot uglier than just attacking my twin sister 😉
“The true Church preaches REGENERATION; not reformation, not education, not legislation, but regeneration.” —M.R. DeHaan
I found a book tonight on audible.com that I hope might give me some insight.
“The Lamb and the Fuhrer: Jesus Talks with Hitler” by Ravi Zacharias (who is one of my all time modern day Christ-follower heroes.)
Hey. Wait a second. I have read Ravi’s biography. I can think of no “great hurt” he discussed but he’s certainly been “greatly blessed” as he was able to come out of the paganism/Anglican/Buddhist upbringing in his small Indian town to have a fulfilled life of love and family in Canada and to travel, and teach. hm.
Hm. Hm. Hm.
Andrea
I know the quote says “…until He has hurt them…” But I am wondering if Towzer wasn’t really trying to put all the emphasis on God’s part in all of that, but trying to point out more emphatically our part in feeling or being truly blessed. That as humans we so quickly fall short of understanding our true blessings in life that until we go through some fire or see our situation more as God sees it, we can’t experience the true joy that does come with understanding how blessed we really are.
In many ways too, I think things that we see as hurt here on this temporal earth, God doesn’t see as hurt at all. He sees how later on it will be good and he sees all the good that comes from what we perceive as pain. Really though if something is painful for a time, but when the journey is over we are better people and have been able to endure something that has grown or faith and our understanding of who God.is, should it be looked at as pain or good?
In some ways I think its not so much the presence of hurt that brings us to an unbalanced view many times, but the absence of hurt that doesn’t allow us to see things in perspective.
I see the conflict that you feel in that statement and I would like to read it in context too. I do think that pain is good for us and God recognizes that more as ‘good’ than pain.
I haven’t got to watch the video yet, it won’t download … Boo. Yeah, Thx for the pics. Somebody help me!!!!! 😉
Dawn –
maybe that’s the problem. maybe that’s where I’m stuck.
I’m putting the emphasis on the wrong ‘angle’ of his statement.
Maybe Towzer was rferring to how mankind can understand great blessings BETTER after a deep Hurt. (which we all know and agree is true and possible and part of serving a loving God)
The words in the phrase “until HE has ….”..my spiritual gut would feel better if it said…
“Mankind can only grasp God’s greatest blessings after experiencing a deep hurt”.
Even though I know God does allow some hurts…I, at the same, time do not ignore the fact the evil has a force that is unrestrained in our fallen world.
9/11/01 ; death of a soldier ; death of children.
I am not looking for only a “Warm an Fuzzy” Deity to serve. I am okay and understand the need for punishment, trials, etc.
but, the fallen state of our nature, surely needs to be put into context around that phrase.
Feeling a smidge less stuck…
Andrea
oh wait..that was Amy..not Dawn! Thx Aim 🙂
Dawn allowed me put her words here via copy/past from a Facebook conversation: Her experience is very valuable in regards to this discussion.
Good morning Lovely Lady – praying that this finds you unsticking! I hate it when I get stuck in a spiritual principle like that! :):) (Does it make you feel any better that other people do that too – it sticks with me and I keep chewing on it – over and over – digging into the Word – concordance and study tools in hand – until I can begin to wrap my brain around it and then *duh* I remember that the Holy Spirit is given to teach me from the Word and I ask HIM what I need to get from it. LOL I hope you’re not as slow to remember that as I tend to be!!) :D:D
Anyway I have been pondering your question for several days and this is an area I have wrestled with deeply – short short version – we lost twins in a miscarriage – only what was thought to be a full miscarriage was only partial and I developed sepsis and nearly died. The many months of recovery, I would lie in bed and believe that the Lord had done this to me. I began to see my loving Father just as the third servant did – as a harsh task master. I did not see Him as love.
I used to have my kids hold me accountable daily – “Please just ask me if I am seeing God as harsh today.” They did – but still it took months – over a year, I know that. There are still times I wrestle with that thinking. (It was SURELY encouraged by my church) But, I could not live with that belief. (PLEASE hear my heart – I’m not saying that we choose what we believe and don’t believe based on feelings!!!!!) And the day I read in Matthew that the Master called that servant – that fearful servant – wicked, I knew I had to search the Scriptures and find out for myself who Jesus really was.
My response to your blog post is coming out of that season of my life
I can’t think of a person, though sorry. The best one I can come up with is Deborah … She was very respected and it doesn’t say anything about any great hurt she went through, but it does say that she was the “keeper of the wardrobe” ! Now THAT would be a huge blessing! 🙂
I’ve thought further and realized that when I spank or discipline my boys I know I don’t think of it as as much pain as they do bc I can see farther down the road. Yes I recognize it in that moment as pain but I know that it is good and will allow them to be better people. So kinda in a similar way, God def recognizes our pain and knows what it is to suffer and can identify with us but I am wondering what He really identifies as pain. When He was on the cross He asked for the cup to be removed from Him. That’s the only time I can think of that He actually spoke about pain that He was enduring, I will have to research that. Anyway, just another tangent…
But yes, Towzer comment to me is emphasizing our part more than God’s. I do see us as the ‘variable’ more in how great blessing is recognized.
I am praying for you to hear God’s heart on this. I completely understand these nagging statements that make one feel stuck! This has all inspired me to go back to the original Greek/Hebrew and research the definitions of blessing. I have been meditating much on thoughts along these lines lately as a very faithful family in our church has battled horrible things since May and some very close friends have been reading books and listening to teachings by a man that I just can’t seem to agree with. What he says tickles my ears about how I WANT to be blessed or be certain that God has “promised” me great things, but it just doesn’t seem to jive with the whole of Scripture. Sorting it all out nearly consumes me some days! I don’t know sweetie, but I’m so glad we know the ONE who does. He does say He will lead us into ALL truth!!!