Proverbs 3:11-12 My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction:

¹² For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

As I read these verses this morning a lead into a sermon I once heard came to mind.  The Pastor read this or a similar passage and said that many feel they must be really bad, because God is doing a lot of chastening in their lives – it got the laugh he had intended.  Can’t remember the sermon, but did start thinking, this morning, about how often ‘bad things happen to good people.’

When we are doing all we can to serve Him, are we not doing enough, are we doing the wrong things, why are we going though such troubling times?  That in of itself can be a problem for us. 

But God allows us to be challenged for many reasons.  Each has its own mission to bring us closer to Him.  Three other reasons for our tribulations came to mind.

Job 1:12  And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.

God could be allowing us to be tested.  The end result, for Job, was a restoration of his wealth, a restoration of his health, and while I imagine he still mourned the loss of his children, he had a restoration of family.

God may not be chastising us, He may be building our character as we strive to live for Him, draw closer to Him in prayer and study.  In the end, as with Job, our life may be a testament to others on the need to stand firm with God.

Mathew 24:9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

Sometimes it is just the fact we are Christians and standing for Christ that we are afflicted.  We may not realize why we are suffering certain financial setbacks, or job discriminations, or the rebuffing by friends and family.  They may not tell us it is because of our faith in Christ, but use other reasons.

The only thing we can do is stand.  Sometimes the persecution is such that we might be able to respond, but not always and even if we can it often makes no difference, and may even intensify the maltreatment.

We, in America, have yet to feel the full oppression satan is capable of using against us – may Christians in other nations are losing everything, including their very lives for Christ sake.  It is coming to America, much faster than many of us imagined it would come.

Mathew 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Sometimes there are things that happen that we have no control over and everyone, Christian and non-Christian suffer the same. 

Droughts, earthquakes, pertinence, fires, all impact everyone and it has nothing to do with us as an individual Christian.  There may be a warning by God through these things, or some other reason, but it isn’t because of something we ourselves have done to ‘deserve’ the oppression or disciplining.

So how do we know which it is?

The bottom line is, it doesn’t matter.  Each of these should remind us that God is still in control and we need to always draw closer to Him, strive to live our lives as a testament to His Grace, Love and Mercy.

If we are asking Him to search our hearts daily and striving to ask forgiveness for our sins, then we are probably not being chastised, which is the one thing we want to know so we can ask forgiveness and correct our behavior.  But if we are doing that daily and truly following Him, it is doubtful He is going to seriously discipline us.

So now what?

2 Corinthians 1:3-6  Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;

⁴ Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

⁵ For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.

⁶ And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.

We are in this world.  We are subject to the evil that exists in this world.  Our faith in Christ can help us through any problem, no matter how serious – and if we survive the trials we can use our understanding to help others.  If we do not and for some reason we lose our life, then that too is a testament to others of being willing to die in Christ.

Every experience we go through, good or bad, adds to our life experiences and character.  We can use it to complain and get angry with God – OR, we can use it as a time of striving to get closer to God. 

Either way, our testimony and our character is impacted.

Let us make sure we endure, whatever it is we are faced with, to the end – so our God can be glorified.

Later, Art :-)

From the ColumbiaRiverGorgeous
May Our Good Lord Bless and Keep YOU....’til we meet again