The One who "Strikingly Encounters" our Need

For my devotional time in the morning I've been reading Taste and See by John Piper:
The Scriptures he mentions in today's meditation hit me hard. 2 Chron.16:9, Ps. 23:6, and Isa.64:4. (You'll have to look them up...not enough space here). His point was that, when we encounter a problem, we should not fret because God has already worked on the problem and the answer was on its way, even before we knew we had a problem; that God works on the behalf of those who wait for him, that Goodness and his mercy will pursue us for as long as we live; that he searches the earth for those whose hearts are completely his so that he may extend his power on their behalf.

Note that in two of the three verses there are conditions or characteristics we must meet or have if this is to be true in our lives. 1) Our hearts must be completely his and 2) we must wait for God….not rush around madly trying to solve the problems ourselves…
Later in that chapter it says that God will meet with (Hebrew: paga…encounter, or strikingly impact) those who love and pursue righteousness. We do not have to pursue solutions; we must pursue the God of the solutions.

This chapter also says that God is a hidden God; a God who hides himself, and that to make this appointment for this meeting with him we must seek him with all our hearts…we must pursue him; and for those who pursue him with all their hearts; he will gladly meet them and show himself to them.

There is also an interesting paradox in this chapter. We are told to “love righteousness” if we want to encounter this God of righteousness—and yet also told that our righteous acts are “filthy rags”…. So what are we to do? The key sentence, I think, is this one, “But God, you are our Father….” I think we are to love God because he is our father; to love righteousness because our Father is righteous. No Father would want a son to strive constantly to be good enough to avoid punishment out of fear of the wrath of his father. No, a father is delighted when a child strives to do good things out of love for his dad and a desire to please him because he loves him. God is not a salesman at a salvation store whom we must pay with righteous acts in order to purchase his salvation. Our money is worthless to him. He is a father who delights to save his children and to be KNOWN by them. He hides in order that we may more fervently seek. And he rewards those efforts with an abundance of mercy and goodness which shall then pursue US. We pursue knowing him and he pursues demonstrating his love for us.

And this is a thing unheard of by any other religion and of any other faith. No other god; not Buddha, Allah, Vishnu…etc. loves those who worship him as his own child. He does not seek to do them benefit, but rather to be appeased and to be feared. These gods are proud and vindictive…not loving, merciful, and humble. They would never die on the behalf of those who worship them.

So, if I had to come up with a sentence to summarize it would be this:
If we extend effort to pursue God in order to know and please him, our Father; he will pursue us with the evidences of his love and reward us with a deeper knowledge of himself. In other words, We just have to show him that we are interested…and he will bountifully fulfill our desire for him.

So after a night like last night when I had a night of complete hell...terrible awful pain and sleeplessness because of it…how can I reconcile this fact of my experience with the words of these Scriptures? (Please note: I have indeed been the beneficiary of his benefits of love as well…) and that is maybe just the point I should make here. The two facts: the demonstrations of his love and the fact of our suffering –are not mutually exclusive. The point is that WHEN WE ENCOUNTER A PROBLEM (or when we suffer, if you will), he is already running to meet us with a means by which to answer our need. Now his answer may not be to remove or alleviate our suffering…in fact, in this life, it will often grow worse over time…but our need may really not be to have the suffering removed. Maybe our need is to know him better…and HE IS OUR VERY GREAT REWARD, as Scripture says. Maybe our need is to receive some special evidence of his love and compassion for us in our suffering…and there have been abundances of this for me…even in the past week. Maybe our true need is to have our endurance and patience stretched a bit so that the next time of suffering (which he can see approaching in his omniscience)…will be more endurable and will not destroy us. Maybe our need is to have someone else remark to us how our endurance has challenged and grown their faith.

Anyone can be in a place where they are not suffering, but yet feel very needy and dissatisfied. And I know from experience that I can be in a place of great suffering and be perfectly content in my Father’s arms and not feel any lack of something that I “Need.”

Last night, I confess, I was very dissatisfied with my lot and with my suffering. I was lonely throughout the long dark pain-filled night. And I felt NEEDY…and God did not immediately remove those feelings. But this morning He has blessed me and refreshed me with these words from his Word and shown me again the many ways over the past several weeks that he has been at work to lighten my load. Maybe last night was one of those nights of “stretching” and the lessons I learned from it may well be needed in the upcoming days. I do not know. I know that sometimes God hides. Maybe I needed to press in a little harder into my commitment to pursue him. And to acknowledge the fact that he is always, always loving me and showering me with benefits.

Last night as I laid completely wracked in pain and totally miserable, it occurred to me to find something for which to be grateful, as is was seeming to me that I was the most afflicted person on earth (I know: stupid thought! But it felt that way for a bit). I thanked God for my warm, soft blanket in my chilly room. I thanked him with even greater feeling for my comfortable hospital bed. I thanked him for my medicines and for my doctors. And I needed to go no further. For gratitude suffused me and I realized how foolish I’d been to feel so cursed, when in truth, I am so blessed. And then, for about a half an hour, I dozed…and for that, I am grateful indeed.