“The Lord defends those who suffer, He defends them in times of trouble.” Psalm 9:9
Pockets of bright saffron cloth litter the streets almost everywhere we turn. Giant structures dedicated to the philosophies of an ancient teacher decorate most street corners. A spirit of false peace has long since taken over this place. It’s called…
Buddhism. A stronghold that has lorded over this beautiful country for far too much time.
My heart bleeds for everyone I see sitting before a golden replica of a sitting Buddha, trying to clear their mind, hoping enlightenment will befall them so that they can reach nirvana and become… nothing.
They are all working towards emptiness.
As a river of brokenness flowed out from my heart, I sang a prayer of fullness over the temple that I stood in and every temple I have passed by since.
I have dreamed that one day I would have the opportunity to sit across from someone who is searching for the peace that Buddha seems to offer. I want nothing more than for all to know that there is more to this life than leaving it.
There is fullness. There is everything. His name is YWH.
“It’s all about following Buddha’s teachings and suffering,” stated the young Nepali monk who sat before me.
The theme of our conversation seemed to always come back to this idea of suffering. Question after question I asked him and it always came back to the same thing…
We must suffer.
I got up from the table and my mind was all but spinning in circles, trying to reconcile what this vague notion of suffering meant. Why was it such an integral part of everything this man talked about?
Merriam Webster says that suffering means, “to undergo or feel pain or distress and to endure pain, disability, death, etc., patiently or willingly.” Basically, anything unpleasant or hurtful that we allow to touch us in some way.
Siddhartha Buddha said, “life is suffering.”
After sitting with the Lord about it, I’d have to say I agree to some degree. I have concluded that suffering is…
The act of living conscious of who you are and your earthly surroundings. Permanent alleviation can only come from a heavenly being. The Ultimate Truth.
We are all always suffering. That is the core of humanity’s plight. It’s inevitable unless we cover it up and everyone wants to cover it up whether we admit it or not.
If suffering is the cold, then we all need a blanket. The issue is that the warmth becomes an addiction. Before we know it, we are dying of heatstroke because no one ever wants to feel anything close to unpleasant.
We have reached the opposite extreme and now we’re done for. The blankets offered a false comfort that felt real.
Only a divine embrace can regulate our temperature. It’s true warmth, true comfort, true peace. The blankets the world has to offer seem to either strip us down and make it too cold to move or smother us so that we’re too warm to live at all.
When the Father wraps His arms around us He leaves just the right amount of suffering to shape us into who He meant us to be. He offers just the right amount of comfort to keep us breathing.
We reach a state better than nirvana. We become something because we are held by everything.
Life may be suffering but, because Jesus already suffered for us, that’s not all it has to be.
Whatever season you’re in now, I challenge you to trust the Lord to warm you up. Don’t pick up the blankets the world offers. Don’t let anything else try to strip you down to nothing.
Breathe in His presence. Lay your head on His chest. He’s not finished with you yet.
“Do not suffer for murder, theft or any other crime, nor because you trouble other people. But if you suffer because you are a Christian, do not be ashamed.” 1 Peter 4:15-16
