by Lorie Codispoti
I play a lot of games with our grandlittles, & no matter how old they are (so far) they always request a scavenger hunt. There’s something about the art of discovery that has given this game universal appeal for centuries.
The word “scavenger” has seen its definition evolve over the course of time. Scavengers started out as medieval tax collectors, then they became someone who collected refuse from city streets. (Literally, a pooper-scooper.) The Germanic root, however, comes from a word that means to look at or inspect, which is what the word means today.
Following are three key things that I look for & inspect in order to find meaning in the suffering I observe in myself & others.
FIND MEANING IN WHO GOD IS & WHO HE IS NOT
There’s nothing like suffering to get us to question everything we know about God.
I don’t know about you, but darkness strategically incites the elevation of more than just physical pain for me. The chief of lies bombards my mind & tempts me to believe things that are not true about God… “He doesn’t hear my prayers.” “He doesn’t care about my struggle.” “He doesn’t love me.” “He wants me to suffer alone.” “He is punishing me.” “He has abandoned me.” Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera!
Lies reproduce themselves in the dark, so we have to counter them by turning on the Light & watching them scatter like ghost crabs who run away when light shines on them. Suffering is a battle on many fronts, & without the indwelling Holy Spirit we’d all fall for the same lie peddled since the garden.
Embarking on a spiritual scavenger hunt means we have become desperate enough to want the Truth & tenacious enough to go after it.
Scavenging helps us counter the lies when we are tempted to…
...believe that God doesn’t hear our prayers His Spirit reminds us that “… He hears us” (1Jn5:14) Listening is a fundamental part of His ever-present character.
...believe that God doesn’t care His Spirit reminds us that “… He cares for you” (1Pet.5:7). His nature tells us He cares about everything.
...believe that God doesn’t love us His Spirit reminds us that He loves us “… with an everlasting love” (Jer.31:3), & that it is unbreakable (Rms.8:38-39).
...believe that God desires for us to suffer alone His Spirit reminds us that He is a relational, triune being & “… if one member suffers all suffer together” (1Cor.12:26).
...believe that God is punishing us His Spirit reminds us that He is merciful & forgiving. He “…does not repay us according to our sins” (Psa.103:10).
...believe that God has abandoned us His Spirit reminds us that He is unchanging. He has promised to “… never forsake you” (Heb.13:5).
FIND MEANING IN THE WISDOM & UNDERSTANDING GOD GIVES
“Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding." (Proverbs 4:7)
What is the biggest & most frequently asked question when confronted with suffering? We want to know “WHY, God!?”
Some think it’s wrong to ask why, but in reality we all ask it so why pretend we don’t? The why question is what drives us to find the meaning as we attempt to understand our plight. Scripture is filled with those who asked this question, including Jesus (Mtt.27:46). God may not give us the why, but He will help us understand what He intends for our suffering to produce: “…we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” (Rms.5:3-4) There is meaning to be found in what God says He will produce in us when we seek to understand His purpose. And when we search out & apply wisdom (“skill for living”) to our struggle, God’s counsel gives us the strength we need to press on (Prov.8:14).
FIND MEANING IN THE VESSELS GOD PROVIDES
The emotions we feel in the midst of our struggles count. Rather than denying them, take them with you on your spiritual scavenger hunt. There is enormous meaning to be found when we surrender every emotion to the containers God designed for collection.
In Psalm 56, David pours out his broken heart to the only One who can help him. He notes that God numbers his “wanderings,” puts his tears into His bottle, & records them in a book.
To wander in this context is the kind of mental roving that causes our thoughts to digress into confused ramblings. It comes from a root word that points to a grieving state of aimless fluttering. The Hebrew likens wanderings to a fugitive in exile, deviating us from a normal course of action. However, along with a full bottle of emotional tears, this collection of confused ramblings need not be relegated to the turbulent waters of our storm. We’ve been thrown a life preserver as we are encouraged to cast all our cares onto the Lord because He cares for us (1Pet.5:7). To cast off implies throwing off the emotional burdens that are designed to weigh us down & sink us. The force of the action flips the enemy’s intent by placing us on the offensive. With His Spirit & His word we are given the strength to endure the turbulence of the storm.
Along with a bottle to collect our tears, we read about a vessel that contains incense, which is the collective prayers of every believer since time began (Rev.5). When we “cast all our cares” on the Lord through prayer we are not throwing them to the wind & hoping God will catch one or two along the way. Every single believer's prayers are collected. Their fragrance reaches God’s throne & fills His nostrils with a “sweet smelling aroma” (2Cor.2:15, Rev.5:8). What a glorious picture.
There are many other beautiful treasures to collect on a meaning finding spiritual scavenger hunt; these are only a few.
We are all beachfront residents, which means we will experience some incredibly intense storms while we live here. And there’s something significant that every beachcomber knows. The best time for treasure hunting is after the churning of a violent storm. It strips away the surface sand & exposes the deeply buried treasures that reside on the ocean floor.
Don’t let the sands of time wash away the things God has designed for you to find. They will prove to be incredibly valuable when the next storm hits. And when the storms of suffering violently beat against your house you've built on the Rock, reassure yourself that God’ never fails to use each one to churn up the valuable things He knows will provide meaning.
He does all the work unearthing the booty & bringing it to the surface for us to discover & collect, so bring a big bag to collect every single treasure.
(c) Lorie Codispoti / GloryUsGate.blogspot.com
