Bitter Or Better?
In the 70s, Andre Crouch wrote and sang the song Through It All. In the first stanza, we’re told, “…that my trials come to only make me strong.” In the last, “For if I’d never had a problem, I wouldn’t know that He could solve them, I’d never know what faith in God could do.”
Today’s title suggests possible responses to trials that God allows in our lives. There are many reasons God allows trials, both general, wide-spread and individual. The Bible sheds light on some of God’s purposes. There are two primary ones: Growth and correction. The following Scriptural snippets are examples. See if there’s any similarity to what’s going on in your life.
King Nebuchadnezzar’s pride
cost him 7 years of living like an animal, eating grass and drenched with dew (Dan. 4:33). He had been warned.
The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were on God’s radar for destruction because their debauchery was exceedingly grave (Gen. 18:20). Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven (Gen. 19:24). They had been warned.
In the Exodus of Israel from Egypt,
the people had to wander the desert 40 extra years because of disobedience. “So the Lord’s anger burned in that day, and He swore, saying, ‘None of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I swore to Abraham…” (Num. 32:10). They had been warned.
These examples could fall under the heading “Reject God’s warning at your own peril.” You can find hundreds of warnings in Scripture. They are not meant to scare you. They are meant to describe your options and the revelation of what happens to a life lived in the wrong lane. His kindness never allows Him to act in correction or punishment without warnings, usually many. And He never forces us to obey Him.
God’s purposes and plans
are as far above our ability to always understand them as a neurologist trying to explain brain functions to a newborn. But if the neurologist is daddy, the baby doesn’t have to understand, he intuitively just trusts his father. We don’t have to know God’s reasoning behind our trials or become bitter because we think we know better than God. Even the secular world understands this.
In 1965, The Byrds recorded the song Turn Turn Turn in which the lyrics (quotes are from Ecclesiastes) appear “…a time for every purpose [event] under heaven” and “a time for peace,” I swear it’s not too late.
Who’d ever thunk that a 60s rock group
like The Byrds would preach the gospel in song? They didn’t go far enough with their lyrics though and point to Jesus as the sole path to get to heaven.
So what do we do when we’re in the middle of trials we don’t understand? Much of the world, in bitterness, figuratively shakes their fist at God in anger, blaming Him and not themselves for their predicament. It’s obvious those who do that aren’t familiar with God’s “if-then” statements, most of which require an action on our part before we can expect anything from God, let alone His blessings.
Leviticus 26: 14-39 lists the punishments
God will inflict on the Israelites because of their disobedience. Read the section. God gives Israel several “cease fires” between increasingly harsh consequences if they would turn back to Him in repentance.
It is God’s nature to want to forgive sinful man. That’s why we find warning after warning of bad consequences for ignoring Him. In John 12:48, Jesus Himself says it about as clearly as we could want, “He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.”
In our sin and lack of repentance,
we can become bitter toward God though we have nobody to blame but our prideful selves. But with the warnings, God offered a better way through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross in our place. God loves you and has designed a path that will keep you from eternity in hell. Humble yourself and admit that Jesus Christ is the only way to this path. Full details in the section Steps To Salvation . Hope to see you there.