The Promise: God's Purpose and Plan for When Life Hurts

240 Pages·2009·1.18 MB·English

by  Jonathan Morris

The

Promise

god s purpose and plan
’
for when life hurts
Father Jonathan Morris

Fox News Faith & Value Correspondent
I dedicate this book to you, the reader.
My prayer is that these pages will help you
experience—like never before—deep inner peace
and joy, even in the midst of great pain.
contents

Introduction 1
pa rt one
God on Trial
1 Do You Even Care, God? 9
2 Reasonable Faith? 19
3 Someone Like God 27
4 In God We Trust? 37
5 Revealed in Suffering 49
6 In Court 61
pa rt two
Emotional and Spiritual Healing
7 How Do You Hurt? 83
8 Heart Damage 103
9 The Father of Lies 115
10 Sourcing the Suffering 127
Contents
pa rt three
Principles for Freedom-Living
11 Making a Fundamental Option for Holiness 143
12 Living My Personal Vocation 151
13 Uniting My Suffering to His, for Others 161
14 Being the Hands and Feet of Christ 173
15 Sketching a Plan for the Spiritual Life 197
appendix one
Court of Appeals 209
appendix two
Earthquakes and Tsunamis 217
Is God Responsible?
appendix three
Moral Evil, the Wicked Kind 225
And the Painful, Logical Consequences
of Misused Freedom
About the Author
Credits
Cover
Copyright
About the Publisher
iv
introduction

Stand by; we’re coming to you, Father . . .
five, four, three, two . . .
A
t Fox News we were dealing with back-to-back natural
disasters. Who could forget the video images of the arrival
and the aftermath of the Asian tsunami—three hundred
thousand dead? Little time passed before the earth quaked in
Pakistan and swallowed seventy-three thousand hardworking peo-
ple already struggling for survival. The same year reporters docu-
mented in real time the overnight transformation of New Orleans,
one of America’s most beloved cities, into a ghost town.
The television anchor who was about to interview me was a
good guy—straitlaced and professional. As far as I knew he was
not particularly religious. We were scheduled to talk about charity
and international aid.
But today he couldn’t help himself, and he dropped the bomb:
“People are wondering what’s behind all this death and destruc-
tion, all at one time. Tell me, is God ticked off?”
The question hung there across the airways and in my head.
He wanted me to answer the oldest and hardest question of hu-
mankind—whether God is responsible for what we suffer—and he
wanted me to do so live, on national television, and in thirty seconds
or less.
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The Promise
I can’t remember exactly how I responded to the pointed ques-
tion in that interview. But for the next few months, I couldn’t get
the anchor’s question out of my head. Of course, as a man of the
cloth, I was familiar with the subject of God and suffering, and
how they can coexist. In seminary I had studied all the books and
had convinced myself I had it all worked out—at least on an intel-
lectual level.
But all of a sudden I knew I didn’t. Behind this anchor’s hon-
est and spontaneous question I imagined throngs of other people
calling to me through their television screens. At the end of the
day, they cared much less about the particular issue of whether
we can blame God for natural disasters and more about how to get
rid of the suffering—or at least how to rediscover inner peace and
meaning in the midst of darkness. Life had taught me that mere
theoretical musings from the classroom do not work when people
are hurting; in fact, hurting people are often insulted when all they
hear are textbook answers.
But whatever the nature of our question, when we watch the
news, we all make one deduction: life is hard—for humanity in
general, and for me in particular. In fact, for some it really stinks.
Is that the way it’s supposed to be?
When we were kids they told us about a God who is all-loving,
all-powerful, and who knows us—even the number of hairs on our
head—and wants the best for us.
Then we grew up.
Now we ask, at some point or another, how to reconcile in our
minds the existence of such a good and strong God with a world
where everyone hurts. We want to put God on trial. Some point
a finger at God out of bitterness; they want vengeance for what
seem like broken promises. However, most people I know who
ask these tough questions still have sparks of faith, and they hope
there is an explanation; they just have no idea what it is.
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Introduction
This book is meant to help you understand why, if God ex-
ists, he seems not to care. But above all, this book is intended to
help you suffer less by helping you learn to suffer better—with
meaning and purpose—and thus be free to experience peace and
happiness as you’ve never experienced them before. Is this really
possible? It is. I’ve experienced this process in my own life, and
I’ve witnessed it in the lives of many others. This book is full of
real-life examples.
My goal is to provide something to know and something to
live—to address both your mind and your heart. I have not written
a textbook answer to the philosophical question of suffering and
evil; rather, this is a guidebook of spiritual principles and practical
ideas—examples and techniques, rooted in the teachings and the
person of Jesus of Nazareth—that aim to better your life.
This book has three parts. The first part is about who God is
and who he isn’t. Since we are supposed to trust God with our
pain and suffering, we had better know who we are supposed to
trust. Part 1 is thus dedicated to the renewal of the mind. Part 2 is a
roadmap to spiritual and emotional healing. Suffering is not about
something that hurt once and from which we then recover. I have
found that suffering has psychological and spiritual consequences
that need to be addressed and healed, and not just explained away.
In part 3, I offer a set of life-affirming principles to live by that
can teach us to find true freedom in the midst of a world that is
hurting. Finally, I have included supplementary material, in the
form of three appendices, that explores the core theological and
philosophical explanations for how God could allow everyone to
hurt so much and still be a loving and good God. To make sure this
material does not get overly theoretical, I have written it as a series
of fictitious dialogues between Dr. Woods, a theologian, and Van-
essa, a mother who has experienced the worst possible crime—the
abuse and murder of her child.
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The Promise
A Note About Me
I have a day job and a night job. By day, I do what many pastors
and priests—and moms and dads—do; I listen to the struggles,
victories, joys, and sorrows of others and try to help each person
discover his path to personal fulfillment.
By night I do something quite different: I give live television
commentary, from an ethical perspective, on the big news stories
of the day. While the appearance of my work changes, the story
line stays the same. The personal drama suffered in the privacy
of our own homes is eerily similar to what we see on the televi-
sion screen—tragedy, broken relationships, partisan bickering, be-
trayal, poverty, disease, sadness, and so much more.
I’ve dedicated most of my ministry as a priest to one-on-one
counseling—giving spiritual direction to young people, married
couples, business professionals, and the sick. I’ve tried to listen,
listen, and listen, and then help them discern God’s plan for their
personal freedom and fulfillment. Their pain has made me cry
with them at times, always laugh with them, and finally search for
down-to-earth answers that are true and that satisfy.
This book is based on biblical principles, but it is not just for
fervent Christians. It is for all of us who are looking for sense in
suffering and who are open to answers even if they come from
sources we thought were old-fashioned and passé.
You will notice that many of my suggestions for how to discover
or recover joy in the midst of suffering can be followed by anyone,
even people without the gift of faith.
For those of you who possess the gift of faith, I hope to help you
face what and why we believe. Faith matters only if it coincides with
truth. That’s why I have done my best not to sugarcoat the power
of suffering. I’ve tried to give suffering a fair shake. Christian book-
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