What Comes After “O God!”?

“… weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5)

No one ever enjoys the painful experiences of life; the kind that have seismic repercussions which fracture the very foundations of everyday existence.  But they happen.  No one ever enjoys the deep water experiences when the feet are no longer able to touch solid ground and the billows roll over head drawing forth a flood of salty tears and a chorus of agonizing groans.  But they happen.

A pastor acquaintance of mine has just discovered that his dear wife, the mother of his five children, has ovarian cancer and apart from the miraculous intervention of God, the prognosis is terminal. 

The terrible experiences of life are much easier to bear if we know that after some trying or painful experience, there will be pleasure and a reward. That is what causes the athlete to push through the pain.  That is what causes the mother to repeatedly endure the pangs of childbirth.  That is what enables the man who is bone weary at work to carry on, knowing that he will, by end of day, sit by the warm fire surrounded by loved ones.

Well, what of my pastor friend?  What do he and his children have to look forward to in this situation?  After this trial … after this terrible experience … after this time in the deep … then what?  I remember attending a concert by the Cathedral Quartet and hearing the testimony of their pianist, Roger Bennett, who had been stricken by cancer and was then in remission share the testimony of his experience.  He said on several occasions, “God is good.”  Indeed God IS good, there is no question about that and God worked marvelously in Roger’s life, giving him several more years of productive ministry before the cancer recurred and he succumbed to it at the age of 48 in March 2007.  I went to Roger during the break and I said to him, “Roger, God has indeed been good to you … but remember, God would still be good if your cancer was still eating away at your body.  God is always good, regardless of the circumstances.  His eyes filled with tears as he took my hand and he said “You are right … thank you for reminding me.” 

Hymn writer, singer and evangelist, N.B. Vandall received an emergency call to come to the hospital one day where he was told that his son Paul had been struck by a car and was critically injured. There was little hope of recovery.  Mr. Vandall recalled: For one hour and fifteen minutes, I held on in prayer while they cleaned and sewed up the head wounds and set the broken bones. Wearily I made my way back to my humble home. I tried to comfort my wife, when, in my own heart, I had no assurance. I fell on my knees and tried to pray, saying only, “O God!”  Hardly had those words been uttered when God came. It seemed to me that Jesus knelt by my side and I could feel His arms around me as He said, “Never mind, my child. Your home will be visited with tribulation and sorrow, but in the afterwards to come, these things shall not be. Your home is in heaven, where all tears shall be wiped away!” Brushing aside my tears, I made my way to the piano and wrote the song “After.”

Well, Paul did recover from the accident, but not without some lasting effects.  But in that time of deep despair when all that Vandall could utter was “Oh God”, God in His wisdom, gave a song that has since been a comfort to a vast number of His people.

I can well imagine that my pastor friend … and perhaps someone reading this is at the point where all that they know to say through tear flooded eyes and a heart throbbing with grief is, “Oh God!”  What is next after this trial of life?