Chaplains Commission Weekly Update – 9/17/2010
Friday, September 17, 2010 at 1:52 pm
Church of God
Chaplains Commission
Weekly Update
September 17, 2010
“Come back, we beg you, O God Almighty. Look down from heaven and see our plight. Watch over and care for this vine that you yourself have planted, this son you have raised for yourself. For we are chopped up and burned by our enemies…..” (Ps. 80:14-16 NLT).
As I looked at these words, written centuries ago, I suddenly realized how similar our situations today are in comparison to those of the psalmist. We need the presence of God in our lives! All too often we feel He has left the scene and we are standing there alone. How many times have you felt as though God was watching but only from a distance? Exactly how many days have you spent wanting to cry out to God and beg for him to see your plight?
No one knows this hollow, empty loneliness of soul more than a chaplain. You see chaplains stand where no one else will volunteer to stand. Chaplains kneel and pray in the blood of souls who have lost their lives in the many hazards of life. Innocent and sometimes not so innocent ones who have perished in automobile accidents, earthquakes, hurricanes, gang wars and the list goes on and on. Chaplains are there!
Our cry, greatest of all, is a cry to the Lord God Almighty to “Look down from heaven and see our plight”. You see the interesting thing about chaplains is the unique way they immerse themselves in the plight of the world around them. The sadness of others becomes their sadness, the spine tingling peril of human tragedy becomes their own and the complexity of thought that one feels when unable to explain the horror that has gripped their heart is the same feeling a chaplain feels while watching one scene after another unfold day by day.
The understanding that all chaplains have is that the one to whom they minister is a son or daughter whom God has raised for Him. God so loved the world that He freely gave His one and only son. And yet, this world that belongs to God is inhabited by individuals who are, all too often, “chopped up and burned” by the enemy. It is a plight of duplicity because we cannot separate ourselves from those we care for. Their pain is our pain, their hurt ours, their agony is felt in our own souls and our cry for help is not only for others but, in truth, one also for ourselves. So, we return to the psalmist’s cry by saying, “Come back, we beg you O God Almighty. Look down and see our plight”. We cannot bear being left alone. We must have the presence of God.
No matter whom you are or how great you may be, you must have God. In chaplaincy, certain skills are acquired, knowledge is stored up and experience becomes a best friend but we need God. Years of development and countless hours of encounter offer resources of help that cannot be attained elsewhere but we need God! So once again, we beg him to come down from heaven and see our plight. We must have God.
I had the privilege of serving as Administrative Bishop of Florida, during one of the most challenging periods of this state’s history. In two short years, hurricanes swept through the state of Florida like battering rams of ancient warfare. It seemed as though it would never end. What stunned me most was the view of seasoned pastors, men of God who were well trained, excellently skilled men of the cloth who walked around as dazed souls unable to help their own flock because they had been devastated too deeply by the surrounding scenes that filled their eyes and hearts. It was a time when grown men wept! Yet, it was a time when chaplains moved in to help make sense of the unfolding sights of tragedy upon tragedy. Chaplains stood with them in their pain, wept with them and their families, and consoled their aching hearts while offering good counsel for the coming days.
As I observed the ministry of Church of God Chaplains, I realized that God had come down, that He had witnessed our plight, and that He wanted to help the sons and daughters who had been chopped up and burned by the enemy. We are not alone; God is with us! But never forget that He is most often seen when He is working in us.
Sincerely,
Donnie W. Smith, D.Min.
Director of Chaplaincy Ministries and
Executive Administrator Care Division
Categories: Weekly Update
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