“Afflicted and close to death from my youth up, I suffer your terrors; I am helpless” (Psalm 88:15). Unless your theology can accommodate the darkness expressed in Psalm 88, you are liable to be overthrown through periods of depression and anguish of heart. Human reason naturally seeks to find a link between moral cause and effect, but Psalm 88, the Book of Job, the Book of Ecclesiastes, and innumerable other Scriptures leave the soul in a voiceless state of suffering when certain afflictions befall us… Recall how Aaron, the first High Priest, was told he could not grieve for the death of his two sons when the Mishkan was dedicated. There sometimes is no “because,” no “cause” that is forthcoming. Sometimes we are left with wordless grief, consigned to a place of darkness and inner pain.
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