We stopped last time with this thought: “Perhaps all bad things do come from the devil, but this one thing I know, God controls all things.”
Now, here are some things to consider: first, bad things happen to some good people because of chastisement. For a good homework assignment, read carefully Hebrews 12:5-11. Go ahead, it won’t take long and I’ll wait… Now, the Bible says that all true children of God experience chastening at one time or another. Chastisement is not punishment or judgment, but a means of teaching, instructing, and guiding us. Chastisement is an expression of God’s love for us. “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth…” (Heb.12:6). Chastisement is God’s way of reminding us to walk in holiness. Remember verse 10 of that homework assign? It is for “our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.” Verse 11 says in part, “…It yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness…” Chastisement is not always a personal, physical affliction. It may be that God is allowing the devil to afflict you in order to chastise someone else. Or it may be that God is afflicting someone else in order to chastise you.
God may chasten you to build your faith. True faith cannot be obtained except through experience. Faith is not a natural human virtue. It always without exception comes from God. Rom. 5:3, 4, “And not only so, but-we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope:” Rom. 8:24, 25, “For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seethe why doth he het hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.”
Faith’s theology must be tested. It may be voluntary or a mandatory test. Some want to put God to the test rather than let God test them. Like the man who asked God to move a mountain, but had his mind made up that He would not. He finished his “prayer”, went to the window, saw that the mountain was still there and declared, “Just as I thought.” I am afraid that for some of us, this is about as deep as our faith goes. Therefore, God sometimes brings trials upon us that we might be reminded of where our grace and mercy comes from. Rom. 5:2, Speaking of Christ, “By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” This tells us that our access to the throne of divine favor comes through faith, so if we are to utilize our privilege of divine favor, faith must be cultivated. So, you see, sometimes God cultivates faith through trials, and tribulations.
It could be the working of god’s secret will. Elihue’s conclusion to his discourse to Job and his three friends found in Job 37:23 was this: “Touching the Al-mighty, we cannot find him out…” God is working out His own divine Sovereign will and purpose of which much cannot be understood, or even known.
Much of God’s will has been revealed to us, but not all. Much of it is secret, known only to Himself. It was apparent that, though it has been revealed to us, Job had no idea why God was afflicting him; nevertheless, it was Job’s responsibility to accept it, and praise Him for it.
No, we can’t always know the why of affliction or bad things that happen to us. Many mothers have sat beside the bed of a dear child who was dying from dreaded disease. We know not why. Many families have stood and watches as their home and all their hopes and dreams have gone up in flames. Such a tragic thing was the two ships that collided in the Philippine Islands, where 15 to 16 hundred souls were swallowed up by the sea or the 250 thousand who is thought to have died in the Indian Ocean tsunami. We know not the reason for these things; but, beloved, no matter what, we must believe that there is not one rose petal that falls to the ground, nor one little ant that is crushed under foot, not one tree that falls, nor rock that slides that our Mighty God does not know about and care for. And beloved, we can be sure that He knows every affliction, every trial, every bad thing that happens to us, and that He has a perfect will and purpose in it. Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good, to them that love God, to them that are the called according to his purpose.” Amen. E-mail, johnpruitt@frontiernet.net