When It Seemed God Did Not Care

A group of guerrilla soldiers during the civil war of the sixties in the ex-Belgian Congo, beat and kicked Helen Roseveare. She felt terribly alone. Couldn't God have stepped in and protected her? Didn't He care? She was almost sick with fear and apprehension.

Suddenly she knew that God was speaking to her, and in a strangely wonderful way a great peace took possession of her tortured mind. She became conscious of this simple question, "Can you thank Me for trusting you with this experience, even if I never tell you why?"

He did not ask her to thank Him for the savage cruelty, but for showing His trust in her. It was an amazing thought. She knew that she trusted Him, but it was a new thought that He wanted to be able to trust her.

"Yes," He seemed to say, "of course I could have prevented this happening. I could have taken you out of this situation. But it would help Me, in My bigger plan for others, if you could go through this with Me, without accusing Me of deserting you, or even asking Me for a detailed explanation."

It was humbling to Dr. Roseveare to think that God had been willing to trust her with some part of the fulfilling of His plan. Could she thank Him? Yes, by His grace she could and as she did, peace flowed into her.

This did not lessen the pain, but suddenly, it made everything different. She was now suffering with Christ, in Christ, for Christ. The whole experience became a privilege.

Dear Lord, help us to be willing to take a sip of the cup that You drank for us.

"Can you drink the cup I drink?" (Mark 10:38).
"He took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them" (Matthew 26:27).