Faith Under Crisis

Read Psalm 56 and Deuteronomy 20:1-4

The psalmist wrote, "In the shadow of your wings [O God] I will take refuge, until the destroying storms pass by."
-Psalm 57:1 (NRSV)

I picked up the magazine, eager to be inspired by its cover story about military chaplains striving to live the word of God under fire in Iraq. To my dismay, the article began with the story of one young chaplain whose faith had been so shattered by what he saw in war that he wanted nothing to do with God; he had become sick of religion and had come to hate God.

It hurt to read this account of faith in crisis. But I had to ask myself: What would it take to turn me away from God? A bitter divorce? The death of one of my children? Incurable cancer? I understood how that chaplain's inner struggles had caused him to become bitter, angry, and alienated.

I read on to discover that the chaplain, now counseling wounded military personnel at a government hospital, had recovered his faith. After agonizing months of adjustment back home, he found and described a new relationship with God brought about by what he had experienced. After enduring a life-changing and belief-eroding time, this soldier/pastor returned to God, a different person but still a believer.

As his story showed me, times of doubt can become a doorway to renewed faith.

by Prudence Schofield (Maine, USA)

A Root of Bitterness

Read Genesis 27:30-41

Pursue peace with everyone. . . . See to it . . . that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble.
-Hebrews 12:1415 (NRSV)

THE company I have worked for over the last 21 years recently reorganized. When the dust settled, I found myself in a new position. A younger engineer with much less experience was given the job that I loved. The injustice I felt created bitterness within me.

Today's scripture reading tells of "a root of bitterness" that sprouts within Esau after Jacob steals his birthright and blessing. The bitterness grows into such hatred that Esau plans to kill Jacob, his own flesh and blood. Bitterness can work that way - consuming us as a briar consumes a garden. Left unchecked, it grows stronger and stronger and chokes out the fruit in our lives. And like a briar, its root must be removed entirely or it will sprout up again.

I discovered this painful truth: Bitterness hurts the one who harbors it more than the one to whom it is directed. I came to realize that my bitterness was stealing my joy, breaking my fellowship with God, and contradicting God's will. But when we discover briars of bitterness, God can help us to forgive and so uproot them.

by Terry Thomas Bowman (North Carolina, USA)