Avoidance Isn’t the Answer

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit. (1 Peter 3:18)

Our walk with Richard Rohr and his insight into the book of Job continues. Rohr rightly claims that humans instinctively avoid discomfort. Yet, it is in our struggles that we find God. Rohr states, “True religion is not denial but transformation.” Rather than deny this world's injustice, pain, and unfairness, God calls us to reach into the darkness and provide divine light. God works through us to provide hope for others. “Faith cannot rest.” To rest in our avoidance is a denial of our calling and not a faithful response to God’s love.

I often say he or she “has the patience of Job.” Unfortunately, all these years, I have misspoken. When you read Job, you quickly realize Job isn’t patient. Instead, God’s patience, motivated by a love for Job, keeps the story moving forward. Job wanted to take the path of least resistance, but God would not allow Job to get by with a casual faith. Rohr challenges us to consider that “Pain is an activator that forces us to choose between what is important and what is not.” God demanded Job experience suffering so he could learn to trust God and accept divine support and care.

Rohr mourns that western Christianity is “Childish more than childlike.” Rohr provides an example of his experiences in Western and Eastern Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall. He said West Berlin churches were “filled with happy, singing people-and almost no commitment.” Meanwhile, in East Berlin, where church members were treated unjustly, their dedication to the faith remained undeterred. Through the fires of struggle, their faith was refined. Rohr confirms, “Faith allows us deliberately to live in a shaky position so that we have to rely upon Another. God gets closer blow by blow.” God’s intimacy through suffering was true for Job and remains valid for us.

Therefore, rather than curse our struggles, Job’s story reaches into the dark places of our world and brings light and hope. Avoidance does not keep us from experiencing pain and will only lead to despair. Courage and determination are qualities necessary to not only endure suffering but to overcome pain without being destroyed by it. Today, focus on where suffering took place in the past and where you struggle today. Rather than pretend avoidance is the answer, prayerfully ask God to walk into your pain with you and defeat its power. The more you rely upon Another, the more God will guide you to safety and wholeness.