"When darkness veils it's lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace." ~Edward Mote

Church today was sobering. Our pastor, Mark Driscoll, shared about his trip to Haiti and the purpose for going. Jesus opened doors in order for them all to go, and when they got there, they really had no idea what they were going to do. They wanted to find churches to help, but only knew of one. They had no idea where they were going, and “Grandma Angel” (an old lady who spoke no English, took his arm and lead him into the campus of a church. He turned around to look for her a couple of minutes later and she was gone.) ended up bringing them to the place they were looking for. From there they were able to see several (a dozen maybe) churches in the area that had been destroyed by the earthquake and meet pastors of the churches. These pastors are burying 100, if not more, attendees of their churches. (I think 100 may be a conservative number.)

There was no sugarcoating today. Pastor Mark told us the goary details and we saw the pictures and the video.  It was good.  It was real.  We all left the building the silence and it’s the second time we’ve left Mars Hill on a Sunday without singing to close our service.  It was sobering.  Really sobering.

Pastor Mark met many pastors who were hurting.  Their flock was hurt.  The flock was broken.  Members of their flock were missing or dead.  These pastors are hurting and the buildings are destroyed.  People are walking for miles to attend a church service?  Would we do that if a natural contrastrophe ruined our buildings?  Would we walk miles so that we could go to church?  Have fellowship?  Share our hurt.  Our pain.  Our anger.  Try to help one another heal? 

One pastor was teaching a class when he felt a slight tremor.  He was on the second floor.  He ran outside to see what was going on.  While he was outside the earthquake hit.  His students and his wife were in his class on the second floor.  They all died.  He has four boys.  He went and got his boys, and they are homeless now, motherless and spouseless.   The day Pastor Mark met him, he buried his wife.  While Pastor Mark was talking to him, he asked him, “Why are you smiling?”  His response, “The Lord.”  He is broken.  He is devestated.  He has Jesus, so he has joy.  He knows where his hope lay.  It doesn’t mean he’s not going to wrestle and struggle.  He knows where his hope lies.  He tells people about Jesus and that’s what he’s going to keep doing. 

We left church today heavy hearted.  Heavy for the destruction that people are living in right now.  Heavy for God’s people.  Heavy for His church. 

“It is better to go to the house of mourning than go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will aly it to heart.

Sorrow is better then laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.

The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.”

Ecclesiastes 7:2-4

Through saddness and pain we learn.  We grow.  We mature.  We become more like Jesus when our hope is in Him.  Without Him we’re nothing.  The concept of pain and suffering, make no sense.

Pastor Tim said something this morning, before we sang a couple of songs.  He said (and I paraphrase) that when we’re looking at the pictures and video of Haiti it’s easy to feel pity and sadness for them, because of the hell that they’re living in.  The conditions, everything.  But we need to remember, that Jesus saved us from that.  That is our life. Full of broken buildings.  Broken relationships.  Devestation.  Without Jesus, nothing could ever get fixed.  Without Jesus we would be living in devestation all the time.  With Jesus we have hope and we can rebuild. 

Pray for Haiti.  Pray for the churches in Haiti.  Pray for the pastors in Haiti and their flocks.  Pray for people to find hope.  Hope in Jesus. 

www.churcheshelpingchurches.com  if you can, help the Church. 

Our pastor went to Haiti last week to see first hand how the churches are doing in Haiti right now.  Tomorrow we’ll be seeing an hour plus of coverage from his trip at church, but here’s a taste for all of you.   Please be praying for the churches in Haiti.  The children of Haiti.  God’s mercy to be on Haiti and for the Church to come together to help the churches of Haiti rebuild and be stronger for Jesus.

I never know what to say when people are hurting.  You’d think that once you’ve experienced great loss, shock, tragedy and the like that you’d know what to say.  The “perfect” word to comfort.  I can’t do that.  I’m totally at a loss when tragedy happens to people around me.  My mind goes blank.   My heart hurts for them.  It aches really.  It’s almost like a little bit of the scare that’s on my heart begins to bleed a little.

We got a lot of sympathy cards from friends and family when Eli passed away.  A lot.  They’re kept in a box with Eli’s other things.  Most of the things written inside go like this: “I’m so sorry for your loss.”  ”We’re praying that you’ll be comforted by the Great Comforter.”  ”Jesus hasn’t left you.  We’re praying that you’ll see His peace and love.”  These cards were sent with good intentions.  I learned a valuable lesson during that time.  There are no words for the grieving.   I had one favorite card.  Inside it said, “There are no words…” and it was signed, “Praying” and our friends names.  Those four little words spoke volumes to me.  They were right.  They didn’t try to comfort me with words.  They were honest.  There weren’t any words.

Even now grieving with my friends on different levels, there are no words.  None.   I guess I could try to fake it and pull something out of my butt, but that just doesn’t do.

It’s hard to see God’s glory in tragedy and in grief.  It’s hard to see God’s provision and His care for us in the middle of  it all.  The darkness can be so thick.   Yearning for heaven.

I have no words.  My heart is heavy.  My prayer is for Jesus’ comfort for you.  He’s the only one who can.

“Go and tell Jesus; well He knows the human heart; its pangs, its throes; He will not fail Thee, He will be Friend, Comforter  and Peace to thee.” ~Elizabeth Prentiss

I have tried to write something profound for the last 30 minutes, and it’s not happening.  I’ve used the backspace and the delete button a lot.  There’s too much on my mind to pray for, so I thought I’d just throw the requests out there and pray that we will see God’s goodness through the hurt and the suffering.  He is good.  Even in pain.  He is good.

Our pastor is in Haiti.  He got there early this morning.  His Tweets and Facebook posts have been heartbreaking, real and honest.  My heart hurts for the people in Haiti and he and a crew of folks get to see this all first hand.  Images that will never leave their mind.  Their wives have put them in Jesus’ in hands and I’m sure they are anxious for their return.   I know that they will come home broken, but they will also proclaim God’s goodness, which is hard to understand in the midst of all of that chaos, hurt and strife. 

Pray for Haiti.  Pray for God’s mercy.  Pray for the people.  Pray for the mammas and the daddy’s who have lost their children.  Pray for the children.  Pray for comfort.

I have friends who have had beautiful babies, but instead of their babies with them, their babies are with Jesus.  Pray for them.  Pray for their hearts.  Pray that they will grieve and through their grief they will know Jesus more.  Because He grieved and He suffered. 

There are also friends with their children in the hospital or they are sick.  Pray for the children to be healed and God’s grace to be evident.  That those children will come to know Jesus and that those parents will see Jesus’ glory and goodness in their pain and their child’s pain.  It’s hard to see in the midst and in the heaviness of it all.  Pray that even a faint glimpse in noticed.  Sometimes there are no words in the midst of pain.  In the darkness, but the Holy Spirit will groan for us. 

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.  And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.  And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.”    Romans 8:26-28

Pray that through the pain, the saddness, the hurt and the strife that we will see God’s goodness.

When we first started attending Mars Hill, I learned this song.  I liked it.  It didn’t become really real to me till Tullie was born.  The words began to pierce me.  After Eli died, I couldn’t sing it when it was sung at church.  Whenever it was sung, I would cry.   That Jesus would embrace me seemed far off and I had a lot more to go through till that was a real reality. 

It was sung in church today and today I cried.  I cried because when I heard those words today, I knew that I was already in my Savior’s arms.  Maybe not physically, but I will be one day.   Until that physical day, I know that Jesus is a great comforter, because He has suffered more then I have.  He has suffered the most that one can suffer. 

There’s a lot of hurt and a lot of pain.  Only Jesus can help us bear it. 

Come ,Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy

by Joseph Hart

1. Come, ye sinners, poor and needy,
   Weak and wounded, sick and sore;
   Jesus ready stands to save you,
   Full of pity, love and pow’r.
   • Refrain:
     I will arise and go to Jesus,
     He will embrace me in His arms;
     In the arms of my dear Savior,
     Oh, there are ten thousand charms.
2. Come, ye thirsty, come, and welcome,
   God’s free bounty glorify;
   True belief and true repentance,
   Every grace that brings you nigh.
3. Come, ye weary, heavy-laden,
   Lost and ruined by the fall;
   If you tarry till you’re better,
   You will never come at all.
4. View Him prostrate in the garden;
   On the ground your Maker lies;
   On the bloody tree behold Him;
   Sinner, will this not suffice?
5. Lo! th’ incarnate God ascended,
   Pleads the merit of His blood:
   Venture on Him, venture wholly,
   Let no other trust intrude.
6. Let not conscience make you linger,
   Not of fitness fondly dream;
   All the fitness He requireth
   Is to feel your need of Him.