Healing Wounds

When He killed them, then they sought Him, and they returned and searched diligently for God;  Psalm 78:34  NASB

Sought – When do you seek God?  Well, when do most people seek God?  When things are bad.  When we want a God-genie to fix things. When we’re suffering.  The rest of the time, God is sort of in the background, present but not actively involved.  Like a grandfather who lives more than 500 kilometers away.  Phone calls (prayers), birthday gifts (blessings), and visits at holidays (religious celebrations) are the usual encounters.  The rest of the time we’re sort of on our own, unless something terrible happens.  Then the family rallies and personal touch dramatically increases.

Why?  Why is it like this?  Wouldn’t you rather have a daily audience?  I would.  But somehow it doesn’t seem to happen.  Now I know it’s probably my fault.  I let the business of living get in the way of living intentionally.  All the trivial necessities occupy me instead of the absolute essentials.  My prayers seem to go nowhere, just bouncing around empty rooms.  I study Scripture.  I see things, get insights, but it’s tainted with historical consciousness.  It doesn’t slam me with instant confrontation like I think it should (or maybe my expectation is out of alignment).  What I miss most of all is just being a child sitting on the lap of my grandfather while he tells me a story.  Actually, I never had that experience.  Maybe that’s why I long for it so much.

I know that God desires to comfort us.  I read Isaiah 40:1-2: (NIV)

“Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.”

I want to hear  נַחֲמוּ נַחֲמוּ (“comfort, comfort”).  No, that’s not right.  I want to feel “comfort, comfort.” Do you suppose that our journey through affliction is essential?  Do we need wounds before we can find spiritual healing?  If we occupied the Garden (without the serpent, of course), would we be content to just exist, to float along with the day?  Maybe explusion was the greatest blessing we could have ever had.  Asaph seems to imply just that.  Israel sought Him (dāraš, to seek with deliberate care, to intentionally inquire) after they felt His anger.  They returned and searched diligently (šhuvand šāḥar) when times turned terrible.  Maybe I should stop avoiding my pain.  It might be the only thing that will heal me.

Topical Index: comfort, nāḥmu, sought, dāraš, šhuv, return, šāḥar, search, Isaiah 40:1-2, Psalm 78:34