God – who is King of the universe and who could be called the CEO of creation – stops to comfort me in my grief.
Some months ago, someone who is very dear to me received some terrible terrible news about a loved one. Her loved one had gone in for some (quite serious) surgery, only to be told that the operation was terminated because the situation was much worse than expected and there was nothing that the doctors could do to try to save his life.
Not only was that news unexpected, but it was devastating because it was the sort of news that caused my loved one to almost be overcome – in that moment – with despair.
After all, it is a terrible thing to be told that in a world where science is supposedly so advanced and technology is so profound that there is nothing that can be done. I mean, we live in a world where over sixty years ago the first human being landed (and walked) on the moon. We live in a world where we carry supercomputers – otherwise known as mobile phones – around in out pockets as though they are toys. We live in a world where a weapon in the United States of America can be programmed to travel halfway across the globe and hit a particular target at a particular spot on a particular day and at a particular time.
We live in a world where one can use machinery to take images of the insides of our bodies, and where I could see the hair on my baby’s head, the shape of their fingernails and the number of eyelashes in a scan taken of them in the weeks before they were born.
And so we place a great deal of hope and power in science. So when my loved one received that terrible news about her own loved one it was a terrible and unexpected blow.
And as she was waiting for her loved one to come out of recovery so that she could go in and see him, she was crying and distressed and being comforted by her sister. And as they sat in the hospital corridors in that terrible state, a man approached them and asked if she was alright. The woman’s sister replied for her (as she was overcome with grief) and said, “No. She has received some terrible news today. She is not alright.”
The man immediately stopped and looked at the grieving woman and said, “I am the CEO of this hospital, and I am here to help you in anything that you may need. What can I do to help you?”
And though there was of course very little that this man could do to help, his compassion in that moment gave my dear one comfort. And I have been thinking about that today. Because God – who is King of the universe and who could be called the CEO of creation – stops to comfort me in my grief. And knowing that today, I am comforted. Because He is stronger and more powerful than science ever could… And I am very glad to know that. Because I need His strength...
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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