When we think He’s frowning at us, the opposite may be true.

 

He had accepted Christ as a child, and lived out his faith through his high school years. His parents were strong Christians.  But he didn’t handle well the adjustment of leaving home for college.  There, he succumbed to influences and temptations that hadn’t previously badgered him so relentlessly. During a semester break from college, he got high on drugs, assaulted a man without provocation, and was arrested for assault.

The university pulled his full academic scholarship.   Though crushed and burdened for him, his dad and mom kept loving him unconditionally as he faced a trial, resulting in limited jail time but a fine and a long probation.

Not long after the incident, before I knew the result of the trial or how his story would pan out, I wrote his despondent parents the following poem.

 

The Smile of God

You’re burdened for a precious son.
You seek answers.  There are none
that satisfy, or explain why
this deed occurred.  It’s so absurd!

A gifted lad, who knows the Lord;
on whom grace has been out-poured.
What happened shocks; the devil mocks.
Emotions reel and sap your zeal.

Your family has seen the scowl
of Satan’s hosts on the prowl.
The water is deep, the price is steep
that’s being paid for choices made.

You feel broken-hearted, humbled.
Have your hopes for him all crumbled?
Will he hear the Master’s voice
through consequences of his choice?

What will unfold I do not know.
But God is stronger than our foe.
What Satan tries, is in disguise
Our Lord’s right hand.  He’s in command.

When plagued by anxious thoughts, or fear,
though you don’t feel Him, God is near.
His words declare that He is there;
that He’ll sustain through all the pain.

You face circumstances grim,
yet God will do what’s best for him.
There is just one who loves your son
to such extent His blood was spent.

Let the tears flow.  Fall on your face
and feed upon His endless grace.
For what is now a painful rod
masks the tender smile of God.

 

The young man, humbled by what happened, repented of the attitudes and behavior pattern that spawned the drugs and assault. He took responsibility for his educational cost at another university, and once again began cultivating his personal relationship with Christ. The Holy Spirit used the brokenness to squash his rebellious spirit and instill in its place a soft heart.

In this instance, the setback and hurt did, indeed, mask the tender smile of God.

If you or someone you love is facing an excruciating trial, ask the Lord to use it redemptively, to display a smile now obscured by the dark clouds.

“Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy.  Though I fall I will rise.  Though I dwell in darkness, the Lord is a light for me” (Micah 7:8).