Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Suffering. What is Your perspective? Have you have heard of Dr. Viktor Frankl? During World War II, Dr. Frankl was in 4 different concentration camps, including Auschwitz. He was a psychiatrist who witnessed the slaughter of both of his parents, his brother, and his pregnant wife. He knew suffering first hand. He wrote a book that has sold over 12 million copies called, Man’s Search for Meaning. In that book he explains what he calls a “tragic triad”. He states there are three things every one of us are going to face: pain, guilt, and death. Those three things, he says, are unavoidable. But how do we find meaning in the midst of all of these things? That’s the challenge! When there’s pain, how do we allow this pain to cause us to look upward and trust our Sovereign God? How can we take guilt and allow that to be a springboard to change our lives so that we may live to glorify God? How can we look toward death as a reminder that every day is important, because we’re all headed that direction! Dr. Frankl says we must find “tragic optimism”: finding the best in every situation.

Since we will all face tough times in our lives, the key is how we respond to them. James 1:2-4 reminds us to have the attitude of joy when we go through tough times. Frankl continues, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: The last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.”

There’s a young man named Jerry Long, who was 17 years old when he was in a diving accident and became a quadriplegic. Instead of just giving up on life, this incredibly strong, 17 year old man went on to finish his education and his doctorate, and became a writer. Now understand, here’s a 17 year old guy, who at one moment was enjoying life with all of its freedoms; then the next moment, he can’t even move. Here’s what Jerry said: “I view my life as being abundant with meaning and purpose. The attitude I adopted on that fateful day has become my personal credo for life. I broke my neck, but it didn’t break me!” Again in the Bible, James says, “let endurance have its perfect work.”

Are you going through a tough time? Allow God to help you find meaning within the difficulty. Trust that our Father God is still in control and choose to let these trials build character.