The man's life was pleasant. So to was his worship. God was not pleased. So he allowed the man's life to become unpleasant. "How could this be?". Beneath the shock, the man was smug. But he could not see it. He thot it was trust. "This will soon pass, God is faithful. Life will become good again. I trust God". His worship remained shallow.
God was not pleased, so he brought more unpleasant things into his life. He continued to trust God to relieve his pain. "That's God's job, to make my life good". His worship became a way to convince God to restore his pleasant life. God was not pleased, so he brought the forces of hell into the man's life. The man's life became miserable.
The man's life became where he could only think of better days, those better days of before. He dreamed constantly of those days and wishing they would return.
He eventually lost hope. Depression set in and worship stopped. The man now started seeking relief through temporary pleasures. More pain came. He begged God for help. Beneath his cries was a sense of "God you owe me help. It's your fault". His worship became demand.
God allowed more pain and troubles into the man's life.
His worship was more desperate than ever. But it was still proud.
God kept his distance from the man. He provided no comfort.
Eventually the man fell into such darkness that he could no longer see his dreams for a pleasant life. Eventually he began to see a glimmer of God. The cry for a blessing was no longer a demand, it was a cry for whatever God wanted to do. The man began to feel something different, it was humility.
The man had forgotten himself and discovered his desire for God. He didnt' find God right away, but there was hope.
Then he saw it, Fresh water bubbled up from a spring in the desert of his soul. It was a new dream. It was a dream of actually knowing God and representing him to an unpleasant world. His suffering became his gateway into God's heart.
My soul is thirsty. A pleasant life won't fill this thirst. God is the only true water.
The man worshiped God and God was pleased. So God kept the water bubbling. When the man didnt' drink, his thirst became unbearable.
Some things in life got better, some got worse. But now this was a man with hope, hope of encountering God.
paraphrased From Shattered Dreams
by Larry Crabb,