Jane and God.

I titled this post as 'Jane and God' because they are gonna be the main characters. I hope that through this story, we, as Christians, can all know how to suffer well, do good while we're suffering and have God as the centre of our hearts always. I wrote this talk for my strand group at NTE just a couple of days ago and because we weren't given too much time to write it, I couldn't use more verses that I wanted to originally. I've decided to blog about it so that it stays permanent (instead of on some paper that I always chuck away after some session). Bear with me if you find it hard to read due to whatever reasons you may have.. here goes nothing..

This is a story, a true story, about Jane and her friends.

Jane was in high school years ago and got to meet Leonard and Guy. They subsequently became close friends and even formed a band together. They played music, did sports, ate, skipped classes and the list goes on. They are what you would call - ''a clique''.

A bit more about Jane. She's Christian - but she once turned her back on God, and you'll soon know the reason why if you read on...

*show* 1 Peter 2: 21 - 25. (go open your Bible if you haven't already, but to save you some time....)

I'm focusing particularly on vv 23 - 25 where it reads on v23,

"when they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly."

You might think that if one's been a Christian for quite a while now, even if trials come along, he or she probably wouldn't fall away too much from Christianity. But Jane was different...

When Guy called Jane one day (in a gentle tone - too gentle that Jane sensed that something was amiss) saying..

''Jane, I have something to tell you.."

"Yeah Guy? What's wrong?"

''Leonard.. Leonard passed away in a car accident this morning..His friend, the driver, survived. But Leonard did not."

Jane's world collapsed. Her hands were shaking so much she couldnt get a grip on the phone properly, she cried and cried and cried. She could feel that her heart was so broken as if it can never be repaired. Jane, being a believer of God, asked, 

''GOD! GOD! WHY! WHY! Why did the good person have to die and not the one who probably deserved to? Why did you not save him?! How could you do this?!"'

Jane couldn't sleep nor eat for days. She couldn't stop crying and often retreated into her bedroom and just - cried. She also turned to alcohol and sleeping drugs and got into arguements regularly for no good reason. She was full of anger and spared hardly anyone with her wrath. Things only got worse 2 months later when Jane got another call from Guy. This time it went like this..

"Jane, Leonard's mother killed herself."

And that was a day before Jane's 21st birthday.

Jane fought so hard with God. She didn't understand why God allowed all of it to happen. Jane walked so far away from God that she didn't know how to find her way back even though sometimes deep down, she wanted to but felt that she's been so bad that God probably doesn't want her back.

But that's wasn't God's plan. He did not give Jane up at all. He constantly placed people around Jane to encourage her and to not give up on helping her find her way back to Jesus. He showed her that He still loves her amidst all her wrongdoings. Jane's close Christian friends made sure that she was eating, made sure that they talked to her and prayed for her and some even begged her to not give up on reading the Bible. He also told Jane this...

1 Peter 2: 24,

"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed."

This verse tells us that whatever we have done wrong, God had gotten Jesus, His only son(!), to take the punishment for us sinful humans. 

And in 1 Peter 2: 25,

"For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and overseer of your souls." 

Jane is like that lost sheep who went astray. Christ is the good shepherd who layed down His life for His sheep, and also the good shepherd who did not let a single one of His sheep go. Because every sheep is precious to our good shepherd.. 

Jane is now back on track with God even though I know that sometimes she still feels very broken-hearted of the events that happened. But now she also knows one more thing which is that she can always seek refuge in Jesus Christ. Jesus - the good person, who was and is sinless yet CHOSE TO die for sinners. 

I don't know how you feel after hearing this story, you might feel a lot for Jane BUT, that is not my intention. I don't want you to focus too much on Jane's situation in itself but instead, to see how God can work through His actions and His word (the Bible!) in such a situation. He comforts, heals, and will always be there. 

So, I urge you.. to not give up even when you're suffering (or if you know someone who is, don't give up on encouraging them!) because God is working in our lives everyday. ..