SWORD OF THE SPIRIT                                                                                               1048

Why?

…but God meant it for good… (Genesis 50:20)

Have you ever gone through trials and difficult times and asked God ‘Why?’ Perhaps your health is suffering and the doctors are baffled by it. It could be that you have experienced the loss of loved ones, a job, home, or finances. Regardless of the circumstances, you begin to wonder if and why God is punishing you. Perhaps you were frustrated to the point of despair by the counsel of well-meaning friends and family that you needed to pray harder, longer, or more frequently. When all is said and done, your best counsel during these ‘Why God?’ situations is found in the Word of God.

First and foremost we must understand that as a born-again, child of God, His Word tells us that all things work together for our good and even the trials should give us joy. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose; Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness…(Romans 8:28; James 1:2-5)

Secondly, we must understand from God’s Word the difference between God’s punishment, discipline, and sovereign purpose. As a child of God we are not punished for our sins – Jesus paid that price once and for all time when He bore our sins on the cross. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness… (1 Peter 2:24)

There are however natural consequences for our sins. I may end up in prison for having committed a crime. I may suffer health issues for having lived an ‘at-risk’ lifestyle in the past. These are consequences and not to be confused as punishment from God. However, God does discipline His children as any good father does.  It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons…For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:7-11)  Jonah was disciplined by God and like him we sometimes choose to ignore the leading of the Holy Spirit and stubbornly go our own way. God loves us enough to discipline us in order to correct our path.

It was through God’s sovereign purpose and plan that Job and Joseph encountered trials. Many of us go through a difficult or trying period in our lives and immediately question God. We wonder why God would allow us to have such difficulty. We gripe, whine, complain, and question God’s love for us. We reserve thanksgiving and praise for the times when we get what we want – when things are ‘going our way’.

One thing remains certain for the child of God: God loves us more than can be measured and all His plans for us are for our good. For your steadfast love is great above the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the clouds; For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. (Psalm 108:4; Jeremiah 29:11-13)

May you endure the trials of this life joyfully trusting in the Truth of the Word of God. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever (Psalm 73:25, 26)