Suffering A Spiritual Conversion
Fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:31)
I am reading the book, Job and the Mystery of Suffering, by Roman Catholic spiritual authority, Richard Rohr. Rohr’s view of the Christian faith through spiritual reflection has often touched my heart. I have not been disappointed in any book Rohr has written. So, I was excited to journey with Rohr as he takes the reader on a quest to seek answers to the mysteries of suffering. From the very first page, Rohr shakes my understanding of the Old Testament book of Job. Rohr begins his book by stating, “Although the Job story has usually been regarded as a study of the mystery of evil-and it is-I’d prefer to look at it as the anatomy of a conversion.”
I never thought about Job as a person in the process of conversion. Job’s life is turned upside down through the pain of multiple losses. Rohr describes the journey as “an ever-deepening encounter with God.” He says, “this will keep it from becoming an abstract debate observed from a distance.” We cannot learn the fundamentals of faith through simply gathering knowledge. To learn and grow in our faith, we must jump into the deep end and live in the muck of life and invite God to wade along with us.
We humans strive so hard to create an existence free from trials and tribulations. Yet, Rohr is enlightening when he offers the following, “People ‘on the bottom’ have a symbolic head start toward truth.” We have a mature faith-life when we can face adversity with courage and hope. Rather than addressing problems with fear and avoidance, people who rely on God can use adversity as a doorway to deeper understanding and relationship with the God who promises to walk with us through our pain.
Rohr reminds us of the Biblical concept of redemption. “If we wish to enter more deeply into this mystery of redemptive suffering, which also means somehow entering more deeply into the heart of God, we have to ask the Lord to allow us to feel, not just to know.” The Biblical Greek word metanoia means “to turn around.” Suffering with faith means to covert by turning into the fear, pain, and discomfort, knowing God will not abandon us. Instead, God will walk with us, and as the Footprints poem rightly states, God will even carry us, when we are too weak to crawl. In your moments of suffering, turn into the pain knowing you are not alone. God will carry you through to healing and wholeness.