Eric Clapton, one of the greatest living rock guitarists, wrote a heart-wrenching song about the death of his four-year-old son (March 20, 1991). He tragically fell from a 53rd-story window. Clapton took nine months off and when he returned, his music had changed. The hardship had made his music softer, more powerful and more reflective.
Maybe you’ve heard the song he wrote about his son’s death. It’s a poignant song of hope:
Would you know my name if I saw you in heaven? Would it be the same if I saw you in heaven?
I must be strong and carry on, ‘cause I know I don’t belong here in heaven.
Would you hold my hand if I saw you in heaven? Would you help me stand if I saw you in heaven? I’ll find my way through night and day, ‘cause I know I just can’t stay here in heaven.
Time can bring you down; time can bend your knees. Time can break your heart, have you begging please, begging please.
Beyond the door there’s peace I’m sure, and I know there’ll be no more tears in heaven.
In John 14, we read that Jesus has just had the Passover meal with his disciples. He has washed their feet in an act of service. He has foretold his betrayal which Judas will soon perform. He has predicted Peter’s denial. He has told them he is leaving.
But he adds this word of hope, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me. In the house of my Loving God, there are many dwelling-places. I go to prepare a place for you and will come again and take you to myself. So that where I am, you may be also.”
Hardship has a way of getting our attention. Pain slows us down. It can even soften us. (It can make us bitter or better.) Very few of us, after facing a difficult trial, come out the same way we entered in. Jesus understood this and was trying to prepare his disciples for the road ahead.
Do you believe that God can use all things in our lives and use them for good? I mean the hard things – the hurtful things. I do.
In the book of Acts, we read that because of persecution, people were driven and scattered and, as a result, they went from place to place (places they would never have imagined going perhaps) using their gifts and proclaiming the Good News of God’s love for all people.
How can God use these difficult moments in our lives for good?
Let me tell you a story about this young man who was a minister in a conservative Christian Church. He was in a successful ministry, using his gifts, and at the same time coming to terms with his sexuality and his spirituality.
This young man was confronted about his being gay and asked if he would change. He said, “I can’t do that. This is who I am.” As a result, he was kicked out of the church he had grown up in and served as a pastor for ten years.
He felt like the “rug of life” had been pulled out from underneath him. He was devastated. Then he heard about another preacher who had been kicked out of his church for being gay, who still loved God.
He thought to himself, “I can’t be the only one who feels this way.” So he put an ad in The Advocate magazine and started a Bible study in his living room. From that gathering in Los Angeles, started the Metropolitan Community Churches that are now all over North America and 27 countries around the world sharing the Good News of God’s inclusive love to all people.
So, this young man decided to visit this church and there he was able to worship the God he knew loved him (not in spite of, but because of who he was). From there, he was able to find his gifts again and use them in a way to share God’s light with many people he would never have had the opportunity to rub shoulders with.
That young man is me – was me!
From devastation to destiny. Think about times in your life where you thought you would never see the light of day again – you felt so buried – there was no way out. And, here you are today. You’re a living testimony that God can and does use all things.
Jesus reminds us, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me. In the house of my Loving God, there are many dwelling-places. I go to prepare a place for you and will come again and take you to myself. So that where I am, you may be also.”
Be comforted knowing that God has promised to be with you. Hold onto hope. Harvey Milk said, “I know that you cannot live on hope alone, but without it, life is not worth living. And you … and you … and you … Gotta give ’em hope!”
Let your light shine. This little light of mine. I’m gonna let it shine! Rev. Dan Koeshall is the Senior Pastor at The Metropolitan Community Church (The Met) in San Diego, California, themetchurch.org.
