By design, the human brain gropes for connections. We link cause and effect, motive and action, origin and result. Sometimes, though, the connection seems to be missing. Some events cause us to look around, to search for meaning, and to realize that we are seeing very little evidence of rational thought or even of God’s goodness.
I wonder what was going on when Paul wrote these words to the church at Corinth:
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our bodies.”
(2 Corinthians 4:8-10)
We know he experienced persecution and every conceivable hardship along the way, and we know that he suffered from a persistent affliction that God did not choose to remove. Because of this, I am especially drawn to his use of the word perplexed. It perfectly expresses the human condition of puzzlement, of looking at a situation and failing to see how it could be that way in an orderly universe that, up to this point, has always seemed to make sense.
When I searched for the word perplexed in the Blue Letter Bible, I learned that it occurs ten times in the ESV. Paul uses it again in his letter to the Galatians, and Peter was perplexed over the vision from God in Acts 10 when he was staying with Simon the tanner. Prison guards were perplexed when an angel released the apostles from prison, King Herod was perplexed by the teaching of John the Baptist, and the crowds in Jerusalem were perplexed and amazed by all the happenings at Pentecost.
I find myself most perplexed when it appears that God is acting in ways that seem to break his own rules. A godly woman dies in horrible pain, while the liar and cheat seems to die peacefully in his sleep. The diligent parent mourns over a wayward child while the son or daughter who grew up in chaos somehow stands strong for Christ. Solid and responsible couples suffer the heartache of infertility while the availability of chemical abortion methods allows “unwanted” babies’ lives to be snuffed out with hardly a thought.
I felt this puzzlement nibbling away at the edges of my mind as I read about the life of Ann Judson, 19th-century missionary to Burma. She had every reason to be perplexed (and even to despair, in my humble opinion). Yet, she persevered in ministry under appalling conditions and with little visible results until her death at the age of 37.
Sharon James has incorporated excerpts from Ann’s letters, journals, and her memoir in this updated edition of Ann Judson: A Missionary Life for Burma. It was clear from the first page that Ann was set apart for something special and unique in service to her Lord. As a young woman, she wrote, “When I get near to God, and discern the excellence of the character of the Lord Jesus, and especially his power and willingness to save, I feel desirous that the whole world should become acquainted with this Savior… I am quite willing to give up temporal comforts and live a life of hardship and trial if it be the will of God.”
And God took her up on that offer…
Much has changed since Judson’s childhood in the early 1800s, causing us to forget that in her day, no woman had ever left America as a missionary. When she teamed up with her husband, Adoniram Judson, and set sail for India just a few days after their marriage, she was making history—and embarking on what must have been the world’s most uncomfortable honeymoon.
After a season of doctrinal wranglings over baptismal methods and a change in mission boards, the Judsons landed in Burma in July 1813, the country where both would serve for the rest of their lives. The language, the climate, and the brutality of the culture made for a hard adjustment, and the death of their first child in 1816 added to their anguish.
Gradually, Adoniram and Ann were able to establish themselves among the people, but were never without setbacks, including their house burning down, chronic ill health, the death of subsequent children, and the shifting loyalties of local government officials. As I read about Adoniram’s imprisonment and Ann’s valiant efforts to rescue him and sustain their work, I wondered why God seems to single out his most devoted servants for the most excruciating trials and suffering. Clearly, he trusted the Judsons to receive every deep sacrifice they endured with grace for the sake of spreading the gospel. They offered up their lives for the glory of God and did not consider the cost too great.
If you are feeling perplexed about what’s happening in your world and tempted to fall into despair, consider looking into the faith-building stories of historic Christians whose concern for the Great Commission and unswerving obedience to the will of God carried them through perplexity and into heroic service for God’s Kingdom.
If you are feeling perplexed, consider reading the faith-building stories of historic Christians whose unswerving obedience to God carried them through perplexity and into heroic service for God’s Kingdom. @10Publishing
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