Another false teaching of bad Bible teachers is that every suffering or bad luck in our lives is a form of discipline from God. They teach that our sickness, losing our job, or any bad things that happen to us are a result of a sin that we have done; therefore, God is punishing us. Sadly, many people believe this teaching; as a result, they are always living in fear. Their motivation to obey God is to avoid God's discipline; instead, they obey out of love for God. God becomes a very strict God to them, and not a lot of grace and mercy. I remember when I was growing up. I used to think this way. I saw God as a God who was always ready to spank me every time I did something wrong. For example, I would think that it was my sin that caused our basketball team to lose the game. I always blame myself for every bad thing that happened to me. I praise God for saving me from this false teaching or bad understanding of God. Through the Word of God, I learned that God is a loving Father. Not all sufferings, sickness, and bad luck are a result of God's discipline.
Psalm 66:10-12 says, "For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance." One of the ways God allows us to go through suffering is to test our hearts before Him. It is through suffering that God allows us to see where our hearts are. He uses suffering to reveal our hearts and see if we truly trust Him or are faithful in following Him. Suffering is not easy to go through, but there are many times in my walk in the Lord that He uses suffering to draw me closer to Him and make me strong in my faith in Him. It is through suffering that I learned my weakness and frailty; as a result, I learned to lean and rely on God. It is also through suffering that He gets rid of pride, self-reliance, and self-righteousness in my heart.
God can use suffering in our lives to bring something wonderful into our lives. Not all suffering is a result of God's discipline. God's ultimate goal in our lives is to transform our lives into ones that have godly character, like Him, so that we can have an abundant and blessed life.
Questions for application: (Think through these questions carefully, meditate on them while answering them, and let the Spirit of God speak to you.) Are all my sufferings the result of the sin that I have done? What is the other reason God allows me to suffer? What is God's ultimate goal in my life?
Write down all the worries you face today and lift them up to God.
Prayer:
Dear Father in Heaven, thank you for helping to understand that not all suffering is a result of your discipline. You use suffering to expose what's really inside my heart so that you can draw me closer to you. Thank you that you are always working in my heart and making me more of the person that you want me to be. I praise and glorify you. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Comments