I CAN NEVER FAIL

'In my prosperity, I said I shall never be moved'. (Psalm 30:6).

Onyinye was born into a loving, close-knit, well-to-do family who adore her. As a student in secondary school and University, she was popular and had excellent grades.
She is currently married to a successful business man who adores her. He literally kisses the ground she walks on. The marriage is blessed with three lively and lovely boys who are doing well in school.
Onyinye is happy. She is thankful to God for her sunny life. She knows her life is smooth because she applies the right principles of success to her life everyday: she is nice, gives well in church, prays, evangelizes, etc. She can never be poor or sick or suffer. She is so sure of that.

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The character 'Onyinye' is a fictitious one. However, some of us can identify with her: we are living the perfect life, or we know someone whose life is this sunny. Alot of us are not so lucky (eyah!).

I do not have a sunny life. I have had my share of ups and downs. But I have come across people who live 'the life': Some quite close, some, I view them from afar. And I have come to realize something about some of them. There is this confidence, this feeling of security that success gives them. They are so sure of themselves.

The Psalmist, Mr. David, who had achieved a measure of success in his life knew that feeling. He expressed it in the opening text of this post. That is the King James Version. The New International Version of that same text (Psalm 30:6) puts it thus:

'When I felt secure, I said I will never be shaken'.

The Goodnews Bible puts it thus :

'I felt secure and said to myself, 'I will never be defeated'.

There is this security success gives us,almost akin to arrogance. Especially an unbroken chain of successes. We may see people who have failed in certain areas or experienced some disappointments in their relationships, or marriages, people with health problems, etc, and subconsciously tell ourselves 'it can't happen to me', even if we are consoling them at that moment.

We are largely selfish human beings. And so it's hard for most of us to be empathetic to people suffering from one thing or the other when we haven't experienced what they are experiencing.

It is why someone who has never been jilted by a girlfriend or boyfriend, or who has a wonderful marriage may wonder why 'this one wants to kill himself because of a mere girl', or why 'this girl is acting as if that boy was her life' or 'why she could not keep her marriage'.

It is why someone who is prosperous in his business or is being paid a juicy salary will wonder whether his less successful Christian brother is really saved or 'maybe he is not giving enough' or he has done something wrong against God, hence his lack.

And so many other examples.

All these 'wondering' may be taking place while trying to console the victim. And the consolation turns out to be a colossal failure because the comforter's lack of empathy is oozing out. It's that empathy, more than the plenty talk and advice, that the sufferer really needs, but isn't getting. Because the comforter just can't give what he or she doesn't have : Empathy.

And all these 'wondering' going on in the comforter's mind often comes out like sewage from a leaking pipe, through the words he utters. For example:

'why are you crying and getting angry at God and refusing to come to church because you are broke? Just declare your riches in Christ and your lack will disappear immediately'. Ofcourse, Oga comforter has never had to worry where his next meal is coming from, thanks to very wealthy parents with 'long legs' through whom he landed that juicy job he has currently.

Ofcourse some of us don't have to work in the sufferers' shoes to empathize with them. But for most of us, because of our selfish nature, it is hard to empathize with them because we have not suffered from the same pain.

I have also noticed that alot of times, the best persons to confide in about our troubles are people who have suffered one way or another, and have overcome. Either pain of rejection, ill-health, fallen into sinful habits, lack, etc. The reason for this is obvious. There is an empathy that their experience has given them, and it shines like a beacon for the sufferer to see, and causes some healing. People want to know that someone can relate somehow to their pain, or at least, can sympathize with them.

You see, we are all human. And even the best human comforters can only do so much. They have their flaws too, because they are human. And so I would like to remind us all that there is The Perfect Conforter for us all.

The Bible lets us know that we are not serving a God Who cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, our pain, our tears our disappointments, rejection, lack, etc, because he has been there. (Hebrews 4:15).

Jesus Christ came to save us from sin, yes. And when he came, he didn't just go straight to the cross from heaven. He put on our frail body. He lived the human life like us. He identified with his human creatures, us. He knew pain. He knew fear. He knew sorrow. Remember him weeping at his friend, Lazarus' death? He knew hunger. Hunger so raw that he got angry with a fruitless fig tree and cursed it and it dried up from the roots.

He knew temptation. Temptation from people, including his own disciples, and satan.

He knew betrayal and rejection. From his human family and followers. From people he loved and healed. It was those people who shouted 'crucify him'.

And rejection from even God the Father. Rejection so strong that he cried out on the cross 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Not for anything he had done. All on our account.
And none of us have ever known this kind of rejection. God has not rejected us, callous, sinful, selfish people that we are.

And yes, God knows the pain of bereavement. Sometimes I wonder what God was feeling when Jesus was dying on the cross. So when you cry for the loss of your only child, I tell you, he understands.

Take solace in the fact that you serve a High Priest who can give you comfort and help in that pain and temptation you face, even in those feelings of doubt that are overpowering you : Not just because he is all-powerful, and all-knowing, but also BECAUSE HE HAS BEEN THERE.