When the soul by the Holy Spirit comes to know the Mother of God; when in the Holy Spirit the soul becomes kin to the Apostles, the Prophets, and all the Saints and Righteous Ones, then she is irresistibly drawn to that world, and cannot remain, but is bothered, and thirsts, and cannot cease from prayer, and although the body becomes exhausted and wants to lie down on a bed, even while lying in bed the soul longs for the Lord and the Kingdom of the Saints.
~St. Silouan the Athonite
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort. … For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. On Him we have set our hope that He will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many. … For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you. For we are not writing to you anything other than what you read and understand and I hope you will fully understand— just as you did partially understand us—that on the day of our Lord Jesus you will boast of us as we will boast of you.
~ 2 Corinthians 1
Oh beloved it is true.
There is a great mystery in our walk with Him. Because the truth of it is, is that He will push us to the edge of our ability nearly all the time. Oh, none of this is because He desires for us to fail. No, it is that, in our failure and exhaustion, we face the choice of falling towards the Life He has for us, or falling back from the path He has laid out.
Also, we learn in our grief and sadness and suffering, that we can become a source of comfort to others as He leans into the problems with us. He is going with us through the darker moments of our walk (actually, He never leaves us or forsakes us!). And, we find that the way through the dark times is the comfort and Light He gives – to give to others.
Here though, is the point where the paradox begins. This is where we begin to experience the “weird” economy of The Kingdom of Heaven.
Can we see it?
Paul is talking about it throughout the passage. For sure, He mentions the suffering and exhaustion of his path. But, He does not do it to complain. He is talking about something else. If one reads the passage for its purpose, we see that Paul is actually quite rested. He is not in some place of despair.
Paul realizes that he is right where he needs to be. He is resting in the arms of His Savior.
Comfort
Abundance
Patience
Unshaken
Attended by a G_d Who raises the dead
Delivery
Thanksgiving
Simplicity
Grace
A boast for eternal knowledge and Hope.
What does this do for someone who is in a super tough situation? It gives rest. It restores the soul. It makes us lie down in the green pastures of His Presence and begin to feast in the middle of battles.
Really.
So, are you struggling through a tough situation? It will happen. You may be, right now, pressed beyond measure. Remember though, The G_d of all Comfort desires to see you through, and bring you out larger and more like Him. And the liar, he wants to bring you to the brink of some false despair, and pull you off the path. One choice will assure your progress towards Home, the other will give you no respite, and it will possibly pull you (and this fool of a writer) off the path.
Tonight is our night. Time to let the exhaustion we are experiencing bring us the Rest we truly need.
It is our best work that God wants, not the dregs of our exhaustion. I think he must prefer quality to quantity.
~George MacDonald (1824-1905)
