It was the second Sunday of May 2019 and
it was (American) Mothers Day. Apparently, there’s a lot of confusion
regarding how many Mothers Day we celebrate in a year. To clear the air on
that, we need to know that Mothers Day falls on different days depending on the countries
where it is celebrated. It is held on the
second Sunday of May in many countries, such as Australia, Canada, and The United States. It is held exactly three weeks before Easter Sunday in the United Kingdom, the same with Nigeria probably because of our history with the UK. For a list of specific Mother’s Day in
different countries, check here.
Back to my gist, that
Sunday marked the end of our Wonder Women of the Bible series we had been
treating as a church. We had considered different female characters in the Bible
such as Esther, Ruth and others and this Sunday, it was Anna, the prophetess in
Luke 2: 36-38. By the way, my church is blessed with wonder-women, if you think wonder-women started and ended in the Bible, you need to visit my
church and meet the many women in my life who have impacted and helped shape
and mould me at different critical junctures of my life from my mum (my numero
uno Wonderwoman) to my Sunday School teacher, Mrs. Eluyera, down to my Indonesian mum, Ms. Ani
Pearman and all the other wonder-women too numerous to mention here.
So, back to Sunday, the soft speaking Pastor Korie Taylor shared
on the subject- Anna: from tragedy to triumph. It was a simple message but I’ve come to
learn that simple is powerful and elegant! Ms. Korie shared from her life
experiences and those of her parents and their friends, who all at different
times had to deal with pain and how they responded to that pain. It was during
that message that it dawned on me, that unlike many other popular Bible
characters, Anna’s life of over 80 years, was summarized in only three verses
in the Bible. But there’s much to learn from this amazing woman as we all can
relate with her and do share something in common with her: pain.
Pastor Korie realized that her parents and each of the adults in
their lifelong circle of friends- all followers of Jesus- had faced significant
pain and tragedy from the death of loved ones to sicknesses, financial hardships
etc.
As I sat there listening to the full-time teacher, mom and
pastor’s wife speak, I was reminded of the year 2012 when tragedy struck my
family. My parents lost a son in a fatal car accident, a week to Christmas. My
aunt had become my parent’s firstborn by proxy, as they had assumed her
responsibility shortly after they got married, she was our (my siblings and me)
sister, she babysat us, she was our second mother. My parents gladly gave out
her hand in holy matrimony in 2008 to a man who had become family. But the joy
was short-lived when he left behind a 3-year-old son and 11 months old set of
twins just a week to Christmas of 2012.
I was young and could not process the pain much, but watching my
parents and aunt grieve broke my heart. I watched my parents bury him a few
days to Christmas and then lead a congregation to worship God for the gift of
Christ at Christmas. I remember vividly my mum telling me she told God, He
knows best and everything is clear to Him, so she let go. I recall my aunt saying, like the Shunammite woman after the death of her son, “it is well” when
visitors came calling to commiserate with us. I saw everyone, my siblings as
well, and all the people Pastor Korie shared about boldly declare “God will see
us through.”
What was their secret? How did they pull through and were not torn
apart? There are 3 things they all did in their pain, and we also should do in
our pain:
1.
Surround yourself with the presence of God (Ps.73: 25-26) like Peter in John 6:
68-69: they declared by their words and actions “Lord to whom shall we go? We
have come to know that you have the words of eternal life.” We surround
ourselves with God’s presence by engaging in routine spiritual habits of
worship, reading God’s word, fasting and praying and fellowship with other
believers. When it becomes our routine, we can easily turn to it in our pain.
2.
Surround yourself with the people of God (Pro.27:17). Anna was in the temple,
rubbing shoulders with Simeon, Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. The people of God will
be a source of comfort and strength as they stand by us as we go through pain.
Connect with God’s people in your local church, in your cell fellowship, Bible
study unit, service unit among others.
3.
Spend time serving God (Luke 2:38). Anna served God in and
through her pain and brokenness for decades since her years as a young widow.
It is never too late or too early to start serving God1.
I have watched my parents and many others
go through pain practicing the 3 points above and I have seen God gently bear them through hard times and that which was meant to destroy them made them
stronger. If we surround ourselves with God’s presence, God’s people and
serving God, we will see God. Because of her choices, Anna saw Jesus with her
own eyes. In Luke 2:30-32 Simeon declared “I have seen your salvation…”
Why do bad things happen to good people?
Well, I don’t know, and I’m pretty sure Pastor Korie doesn’t know either. But
what we do know is that we can set ourselves up for triumph in the face of
tragedy by surrounding ourselves with God’s presence.
Let me conclude by saying this: in our pain lies an opportunity to offer up to God a sacrifice of praise. And as we
offer this sacrifice, we can rest assured God will meet us right there.
Have
you experienced pain? How did you pull through? Perhaps there are other secrets
beyond those listed? Please feel free to share with us in the comment section.
It is always a pleasure reading your thoughts.
EndNote
1.
Sermon
outline Anna: From Tragedy to Triumph. Sunday, 12th May 2019,
International Christian Assembly, Surabaya. To get the full message and other resources
kindly visit www.icasby.com.
Yes, good thought of turning our pain into praise by turning ourselves to God & His people!
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