Tobit 8:13-21: a reflection

13So the maidservant opened the door, and went in, and found them both sleeping, 14and came out, and told them that he was alive. 15Then Raguel blessed God, saying, “Blessed are you, O God, with all pure and holy blessing! Let your saints bless you, and all your creatures! Let all your angels and your elect bless you forever! 16Blessed are you, because you have made me glad; and it has not happened to me as I suspected; but you have dealt with us according to your great mercy. 17Blessed are you, because you have had mercy on two that were the only begotten children of their parents. Show them mercy, O Lord. Fulfill their life in health with gladness and mercy. 18He commanded his servants to fill the grave. 19He kept the wedding feast for them fourteen days. 20Before the days of the wedding feast were finished, Raguel sware to him, that he should not depart till the fourteen days of the wedding feast were fulfilled; 21and that then he should take half of his goods, and go in safety to his father; and the rest, said he, when my wife and I die.

Raguel, whose daughter Sarah had lost seven husbands to a demon on their wedding nights, fully expects the worst when she marries Tobias. So certain is he of tragedy that during the night he secretly digs a grave, ready to bury Tobias by morning. But when the maid checks and finds Tobias alive and well, Raguel is overwhelmed with relief and breaks into blessing: Blessed are you, O God, for you have made me glad, and it has not happened to me as I suspected; you have dealt with us according to your great mercy. God's mercy proved far greater than Raguel's fears.

Notice the gap between Raguel's fears and God's mercy. He had braced for the worst, so sure of disaster that he prepared a grave. And instead of the tragedy he dreaded, he received mercy; God dealt with him not according to his fears but according to his great mercy. The disaster he was certain of never came; the God he half-expected to be against him proved merciful.

That is a comfort worth holding when we brace ourselves for the worst. Like Raguel, we often expect disaster, rehearse the tragedy, prepare for the blow we are sure is coming. And often God deals with us better than we feared, showing a mercy greater than our anxious expectations. This is not a promise that hard things never come, but a reminder that God is often kinder than our fears, that the dreaded disaster frequently does not arrive, that his mercy exceeds our anxious imaginings. When you are braced for the worst, remember Raguel, who dug a grave and received a wedding feast instead. Do not let your fears convince you God is against you; his mercy is often greater than you dare to expect.

Lord, Raguel was so certain of disaster that he dug a grave in the night, and instead received mercy, blessing you that it had not happened as he suspected, but according to your great mercy. When I brace myself for the worst, rehearsing tragedy and preparing for the blow I am sure is coming, remind me of Raguel. You are often kinder than my fears; the disaster I dread frequently does not arrive, and your mercy exceeds my anxious imaginings. This is not a promise that hard things never come, but help me not to let my fears convince me you are against me. Your mercy is often greater than I dare expect; help me trust it, and to bring my fears to the God who deals with me in mercy.