Lamentations 3.33
For He does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men.
There is a Proverb in Ecclesiastes that goes, (Ecclesiastes 7:2) It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart.
We don't look for affliction as a means of spiritual growth. When we are going through it we don't even look at it as a means to spiritual growth.
But we should.
James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Affliction and grief were not part of God's intention and creation. It came after sin. It is a result of sin. But God uses it in our lives to make us more like Christ Who suffered for us. The LORD takes no pleasure in His judgements.
Proverbs 3:11-12 My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline, and do not resent His rebuke, because the LORD disciplines those He loves, as a father the son he delights in. Those He loves
Hebrews 12:9-11 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Share in His holiness/ a harvest of righteousness and peace
Speaking of Jesus...
Isaiah 53:10-11 Yet it was the LORD's will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer, and though the LORD makes His life an offering for sin, He will see His offspring and prolong His days,and the will of the LORD will prosper in His hand. After He has suffered, He will see the light of life and be satisfied; by His knowledge My Righteous Servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities.
“We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be." ― C.S. Lewis
When it comes to suffering due to judgement this is suffering God calls upon us to avoid. God does not separate His love from His discipline. He is actually a supreme example of it for all father and mothers.
God's discipline is given to make us like Him. His judgement is reluctantly given. His mercy springs forth. Judgement is spurred on from man's sin. Mercy comes from the heart of God seeing man in a pitiful state.
Habakkuk's prayer:
Habakkuk 3:2 LORD, I have heard of Your fame; I stand in awe of Your deeds, LORD. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.
Jeremiah expresses it in this way:
Lamentations 3.33
For He does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men.
It is not God's will, His Desire or what He prefers to bring grief and affliction to people. Yet He is just and must judge. He judges so things do not get worse.
Spiritually, morally, mentally and physically sin begets suffering.
This verse speaks of the affliction and grief due to sin. It is the pain that results from sin. In the broader sense all affliction and grief is the product of living in a fallen world. However not all affliction and grief is due to personal wrong doing. Some is. Jeremiah is speaking about that.
God's judgement was call to repentance. A soul that feels utterly desolate will call upon God. We see this even in those who never knew Him when faced with tragedy. The cries heard in New York on September 11, 2001 were ones of shock and mercy. Never before in my life or since then did people outside the church ask me to pray like they did that day or the days after. The park at Union Station became very holy ground. People were walking around in silence and everyone took the Bibles and CDs we were handing out that day. Those 2 adjusters who visited our church from Texas, "Never before have I felt the Presence of God and the effects of evil so clear."
Yes, defiantly, a number of our leaders, said, "We will rebuild." I happen to hear one of our Senators say it on TV. Even the way she said it was defiant. It was so wrong. It was so inappropriate. It is what Israel did when God began to judge them.
1. Some suffering is through natural consequences.
This is part of God' Providence. He provides for natural consequences to warn the soul to stop and for others to see the effects of such living.
Bitterness' effects
Psychiatrist The real need is forgiveness.
UK Daily Mail August 11, 2011
We all experience a bout of sour grapes from time to time, but experts are warning that being too bitter too often can actually make you ill.
Researchers who have examined the relationship between failure, bitterness and quality of life found that blaming others can lead to physical disease.
‘Persistent bitterness may result in global feelings of anger and hostility that, when strong enough, could affect a person's physical health,’ says Carsten Wrosch, a professor in Montreal's Concordia University Department of Psychology and a member of the Centre for Research in Human Development.
Substance abuse
These are things we need to turn over to the LORD and ask for His help in them. Drugs and excessive alcohol consumption can ruin a person's physical body and destroy their ability to function mentally.
There are things we may or may not be the cause of:
Mental Anguish
We see things or experience things in the world that trouble us.
Relationship Issues
Nothing can tear the heart up like a fractured relationship. A broken one can be like death in many ways.
Grief is a consequence of living in a fallen world.
2. Some suffering is through God withdrawing His Hand.
National Protection This was true of Jerusalem.
The justice of God's judgement is to awaken the people to their need of turning from their sin and back to Him as the center of their national life.
Enemies get their own way.
There are no visions from the prophets from the LORD.
This, as we said is done with reluctance, and without malice.
A surgeon inflicts pain but not willingly but because to bring about a cure he must. So it is with the LORD.
When we talk about freedom from sin we must be careful to distinguish between sin's penalty and sin's consequences. We are free from its penalty and power the moment we ask for forgiveness. Its consequences may be with us for a long time. Sin mars and scars.
If we shoot off our mouth we can damage a relationship that will take time to heal.
If we abuse our bodies with tobacco we may have to wait a long time for physical restoration or we may have to wait for heaven before we are restored.
God use the examples of others' consequences to warn us.
He uses His Word to warn us:
Proverbs 6:27-29 Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned? Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched? So is he who sleeps with another man’s wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished.
3. He always warns.
The prophets were about that work. From Isaiah to Malachi.
God is about that work Genesis to Revelation contains warnings.
It also contains examples of those who did not listen.
Are we listening?
Judgement is avoided by humbling ourselves. If we do that then God will not have to humble us.
II Chronicles 7.14
This is such a huge thing. Humbling ourselves is certainly not part of the natural man. We insist on being right. We defend ourselves. We take pride in what we know. Humbling ourselves is a supernatural thing. We need the LORD's help as we do it. It is an act of the will of man leaning upon the LORD for the ability.
There are personal judgments (things we face due to our own sin) and national judgements (National Sin). For example, I believe the rejection of a day of rest in America is destroying bodies. God set this example. Jesus told us it was made for us. Yet the nation rejects it today. People are walking around exhausted, over worked, over active. Breakdowns physically and mentally are taking place, which could be greatly avoided by doing what the LORD said.
We pray for America.
Perhaps you need prayer for yourself or you are praying for someone else today.
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