PRÉCIS ON THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP: A PERSONAL LAMENTATION OF DESPAIR LACED WITH HOPE

SCRIPTURE. “O Lord, all peace and all prosperity have long since gone, for You have taken them away. I have forgotten what enjoyment is.All hope is gone; my strength has turned to water, for the Lord has left me. Oh, remember the bitterness and suffering You have dealt to me! For I can never forget these awful years; always my soul will live in utter shame. Yet there is one ray of hope: His compassion never ends. It is only the Lord’s mercies that have kept us from complete destruction. Great is His faithfulness; His loving-kindness begins afresh each day.” – LAMENTATIONS 3:17-23, TLB

KEY TERMS.

• “BITTERNESS.” ‘Oniy’ [עָנְיִ֥י]:“From a root word meaning, ‘To look down as when one is browbeaten, depressed;’ misery, affliction, trouble; also, ‘to be humbled;’ to become needy or poor [as with the withdrawal of prosperity or abundance].” NOTE. “The Hebrew word ‘oniy’ primarily denotes a state of affliction or poverty. It is often used in the Old Testament to describe the condition of those who are oppressed, suffering, or in a state of need. The term conveys both physical and emotional distress, highlighting the plight of individuals who are marginalized or disadvantaged.”

• “HOPE.” ‘Yachal’ [אוֹחִֽיל׃]: “From a primitive word meaning, ‘To wait patiently, to expect with hope;’ thoughit be painful, to wait, tarry or trust [in God’s faithfulness to supply].” NOTE: “The Hebrew verb ‘yachal’ primarily conveys the idea of waiting with expectation or hope. It is often used in contexts where there is a sense of anticipation for something positive or for divine intervention. The term implies a confident and patient trust in God’s timing and promises, often in the face of uncertainty or adversity.”

QUOTATION I. “‘The Cross is laid upon every Christian. The first Christ-suffering which every man must experience is the call to abandon the attachments of this world.’ It is that dying of the old man which is the result of his encounter with Christ. As we embark upon discipleship we surrender ourselves to Christ in union with His Death—we give over our  lives to death. Thus, it begins; The Cross is not the terrible end to an otherwise God-fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the beginning of our communion with Christ. ‘When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.’ It may be a death like that of the first disciples who had to leave home and work to follow Him, or it may be a death like Luther’s, who had to leave the monastery and go out into the world. But it is the same death every time—Death in Jesus Christ, the Death of the old man at his call.” ― DIETRICH BONHOEFFER, The Cost of Discipleship, 1937, p. 99; edited

QUOTATION II.  “‘Give up yourself, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it. Submit to death.’ Death of your ambitions and favorite wishes every day and death of your whole body in the end submit with ever fiber of your being, and you will find Eternal Life. Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.” ― C.S. LEWIS, Mere Christianity, 1952; edited

COMMENTARY. “The Prophet relates the more gloomy and discouraging part of his experience, and how he found support and relief. In the time of his trial the Lord had become terrible to him. It was an affliction that was misery itself; for sin makes the cup of affliction a bitter cup. The struggle between Unbelief and Faith is often very severe. But the weakest believer is wrong, if he thinks that his strength and hope are perished from the Lord.” – MATTHEW HENRY, Exposition of the Old and New Testaments, 6 vols., 1708-1710; edited

DK’S TAKE. I often comment that I am reasonably happy about 80% of the time, but that of course leaves, “The 20%.” During those times when a variety of Foes come to visit me, sometime all at once (financial deprivation, poor health, broken relationships, or painful accidents leaving wounds needing healing), I fall into occasional deep despair.

‘Beloved, that is normal!’

‘The Test of our Spiritual Mettle is what we DO with the despair.’ By the Prophet’s Example, we come to the King with it – all of it, unbridled, uncensored, fully human, fully despairing, fully honest. And He shall then Listen with a compassionate ear till we are finished, and then always, always, offer HOPE.

Sometimes along with chastening, sometimes not. But He shall never leave us in our despairs, beloved. The length of time He leaves us there on the side of that Narrow Road varies from person to person, but it isn’t a millisecond longer than we can bear. It is finished when He is finished with us in that particular trial.

THE PROMISE. “For the Lord will not cast off forever! But though He causes grief, yet will He be moved to compassion according to the multitude of His loving-kindness and tender mercy.” – LAMENTATIONS 3:31-32, AMPC

This is The Way for us dear saints, from time to time, as He Prepares us for the real work ahead in our Last Days Mission of Rescue. Bear up under it for Him – and for all those to whom you shall yet bring His Eternal Hope. Selah.