Daly Focus Blog
One of the most frequently asked questions in a crisis is, “Where is God when we suffer?” I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but I’d offer this thought: God doesn’t abandon us in our suffering. He’s present with us in it.
Nothing feels more lonely or more isolating than pain. Which is why when we’re hurting, God reaches out to us through people. We don’t have to search for Him in the clouds or hope a divine apparition appears.
We talk a lot about biblical wisdom here at Focus on the Family. The reason is because more than any other factor God’s wisdom is critical to the success of a marriage, a household or a culture. Without His wisdom to guide us, poor, even destructive choices, are sure to follow.
Consider this: at the height of the #MeToo movement, The New York Times reported that 201 powerful men had been exposed for their mistreatment of women.
Fourteen-year-old Connor Halsa from Minnesota caught more than fish on his summer vacation last year. He and his family were enjoying a sunny day on the lake when he reeled in a wallet that contained $2,000 in cash. And yet, even as Connor spread out the money on a rock to dry, not once did visions of a new bike or gaming system dance through his mind. That wallet belonged to someone, and Connor intended to find out who and return it to him.
One of my boys is strong-willed. Over the years, Jean and I have joked that we were raising a lawyer-in-training. He could find a loophole in anything.
Once, Jean hosted a women’s tea and set out chocolates in the living room. She later discovered half the bowl was gone. When she asked our son if he’d eaten all the chocolates, he responded, “No,” without hesitation.
“You didn’t eat the chocolates?”
“Oh, I ate some of them.
I’m excited for the opportunity to highlight the life and work of my friend Dr. Gary Chapman on our Focus on the Family Broadcast “The Impact of a Life Well Lived.”
Matthew 5:16 says, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
I can think of few people who exemplify this more than Dr. Gary Chapman
Many of you know him as the author of The Five Love Languages, which has sold 20 million copies and has been translated into over 45 languages.
At an orphanage in Guatemala, author Dave Willis saw how deeply love can change a person’s life. Most of the children at the facility had been rescued from sex-traffickers or abusive families. Like Margarita, who had been abused by her father and uncle. Everyone who should have protected her wounded her instead.
When she arrived at the orphanage, she hardly spoke and didn’t trust anyone – especially men. John and Jessica, the couple who ran the orphanage, did their best to love Margarita and to help her feel safe in every way that they could.
When Albert Einstein was a little boy, his father gave him a compass. The moment changed his life. No matter what direction he faced, the needle always pointed north. It was the first time he realized that something invisible influenced the universe.
You and I are so used to invisible things that we rarely give them a second thought. We can’t see air, but we experience its influence every time it fills our lungs or blows through our hair.
Why did you get married?
To work a job?
To do laundry?
To pay bills?
Of course not. Yet, many couples wind up with marriages in exactly that kind of “ho-hum” condition.
After the euphoria of the wedding ceremony fades, life settles into a daily routine of often-mundane activity. Careers are chased, children are born, and ever-larger homes are purchased requiring greater amounts of time and money to maintain. Before long, a relationship once nourished by hours on the phone together becomes two people who only talk when they’re discussing something practical, like finances or the kids’ schedules.
There’s a satirical video on social media that highlights a common marriage stereotype. It begins with a young woman accepting a surprise marriage proposal. The moment she says yes, the footage switches to clips of her toiling away in domestic drudgery. One moment, she’s enraptured by the beauty and romance of marriage. The next, she’s buried beneath dishes, laundry, and buckets of soapy water.
Negative stereotypes about marriage don’t end there. Some people refer to their marriage as a life sentence with no chance for parole.
What stirs in your heart when you read Matthew 9:37-38? “Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.’”
What about Mark 16:15? “And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.’”
Do verses about evangelism like these excite you? Or do they fill you with anxiety?
For extroverts like me, connecting with people about the Christian faith is somewhat natural.
Jim Daly is a husband, father and President of Focus on the Family and host of its National Radio Hall of Fame broadcast. His blog, Daly Focus, is full of timely commentary and wisdom designed to help you navigate and understand today’s culture. His latest book is Marriage Done Right.
