Destination: Venus
“It had been raining for seven years; thousands upon thousands of days compounded and filled from one end to the other with rain… And this was the way life was forever on the planet Venus…”
I wonder how life must have been in the world illustrated in the remarkable short story by Ray Bradbury, All Summer in A Day— a life without warmth and rained on continuously for a full seven years.
Cold. Dark. Dreary.
Hopeless.
While Mr. Bradbury’s work presents itself as just a piece of mere fiction, it reflects the brutal, honest reality of many lives. Life can be unkind and ruthless, leaving people to fend for themselves. Worse still, when it rains, it pours, showing no sign of stopping. It could be a bitter, lonely journey, being drenched in pelting, cold, hard rain.
In fact, I find myself here currently.
Destination: Venus.
I searched my heart for a long archive of bad behaviors that landed me in this forgotten, cursed land. Was it something that I have done to propel me here? What have I done to deserve this? Why am I all alone in this journey? Is there a way out?
It is tempting to ponder upon the question as to why bad things happen to good people. If God is so good, why do people suffer, exiled in planet “Venus,” forgotten by an all-loving, kind, gracious God?
A pang of guilt rushed within me the more I pondered on these thoughts. I can’t help but wonder if it is a sin to question God’s character. I read of His goodness in the Bible: He is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness… forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin… (Ex. 34:6,7). On the other hand, I am also faced with the reality of life: injustice, the financial crisis, a lawsuit, harassment… All these weighed heavily in my heart as I journeyed through the hill of difficulty in my Christian journey.
I know the implication of being a Christian—it is not a bed of roses. Still, I did not expect to be hurled to a faraway land, “Venus.” I looked around, searching to see if anyone else was around me in the deep darkness.
No one.
The sound of silence was almost deafening as I battled internally against my own thoughts, which were clearly audible in this surrounding.
“You are all alone. No one is here to help you through.”
Just when all hope seemed lost, it was in this quietness that I heard a gentle whisper, an advice from an evangelist whom I came in contact with many years ago: “When you look around and all you see is darkness, look up.”
What was seemingly the easiest thing to do amidst this thick darkness became my only obstacle in getting any help whatsoever. After all, what other choice do I have in this situation?
Nothing.
I was overcome with “fear”— a four-letter word that presented itself as an enormous barrier from getting me out of “Venus.” I could not help but wonder, what if this was the very last resort, and the voice in my head was right? What if I looked up and nobody was there? Then I’d really be all alone in this deserted place, doomed and abandoned.
On the flipside, the simplest thing to do requires the greatest courage. This small, yet significant four-letter word prevented me from another four-letter word which could bring me back to a world where the sunlight glimmered among the trees, and the world was warm and bright, a world filled with joy, laughter, and goodness— a world filled with “hope.”
Drenched in the numbing, freezing hurricane, overwhelmed with the repeating hit of the pelting blitz, there was nothing more that I yearned in my bones than being back in the bright world I came from.
I was reminded of the story of Job in this situation. He was proclaimed as a “blameless and upright man” by the Most High, a man who “fears God and turns away from evil,” (Job 1:8) yet he endured the most unfair treatment that anyone had ever encountered on the face of the earth.
In my limited, finite understanding, fairness is reaping the reward that we sow: when we do what is right in the sight of God, we should be awarded with blessings, and vice versa. However, this did not apply in Job’s situation. All that he had ever owned, the vast prosperity that he enjoyed (7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants), his reputation (also known as “the greatest of all the people of the east”), and his beloved flesh and blood (seven sons and three daughters) were stripped away from him in one day. (Job 1:3).
On top of that, he was struck with excruciating, painful boils that covered him from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet. Life was a living hell as this man could not rest properly due to the agonizing, tormenting pain that he experienced. (Job 2:7).
This was not the end of his suffering. His three friends who initially came to mourn with him started questioning him on what evil deeds he had done to deserve all these evils which had befallen him. (Job 4–36). They, too, shared my finite understanding on “reaping what he sowed.”
In fact, his own wife asked him to “curse God and die.” (Job 2:9).
It started to dawn on me that I was not the only one on “Venus.”
Job’s entire world turned upside down in one single event just because Satan questioned his loyalty. (Job 1:9). Although he did not know the cosmic conflict that took place behind the scenes, yet he responded with this statement: “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” (Job 1:21).
In spite of what happened to this man, he looked up. Although he had everything stripped from him, he still held fast to the faith that he had. I was quickly put to shame as I feared to trust in God, although that was the only choice that I had.
The epiphany suddenly pierced through the darkness on “Venus” as warm sunlight embraced my chilled skin, breaking the dawn of the thick darkness. I could see clearly now. I realized that God was with Job through his experience on “Venus.” Despite Job's unbearable hardships, he reached out his hands and hung on to God like a dear Friend. He had a perfect understanding of who God is, and knew that He has a purpose behind every pain and suffering, although he did not have an understanding of the situation at the time.
Another beam of sunlight pierced through the dark clouds as I realized that even Christ endured a time on “Venus.” On the cross, He cried out these words in anguish, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46). Although He felt the intense separation from His Father for the very first time, He did not give up hope. Jesus also looked up and held fast to His faith, because of the relationship that He had with His Father. He knew God’s character and His goodness, that none of His suffering would go to waste. (Isaiah 53:11).
When I was on “Venus,” I realized the very substance that I was lacking. I let fear get the best of me, and it kept me from trusting God; from believing in His character though it was clear in His word— that He is merciful, just, loving, and kind. Indeed, the sufferings of the righteous on “Venus” did not go to waste. In the end, everything that Job lost was restored two-fold. His character was vindicated, and his faith advocated for God’s character in the process. Jesus Christ did not deserve His moments on “Venus” either, but through His faith, all of humanity has the hope of salvation. Through Him, we can be reconciled to God through His blood. Indeed, their suffering did not make sense. What they went through was very unjust (as they did not deserve it), but the purpose behind them had a greater goal. These written encounters eventually bring hope for humanity as they bring light into the seemingly dark experience that I am going through.
In spite of my ongoing agonies in life, in the midst of the endless painful experience that I am enduring, it warms my heart that Jesus is with me through it all. I learned that faith is not based on my feelings, but my decision to hang on to God even in these painful moments. (Heb 11:1).
Min Wong is a Christian writer who aspires to change lives through her “pen”. She strives to be used as a tool by God—to use this talent and inspire others to draw close to Him, to encounter Him, to help others to “taste and see that He is good.” (Ps. 34:8)
