When things go wrong
Jacob
this world is. But when things keep going wrong or go seriously wrong
for Christians, usually one of two things happens. People come to us
and practically accuse us of some hidden sin in our life, lack of
faith, etc. Or we look to natural solutions ignoring any spiritual
context. We get so used to such accusations that we immunise ourselves
against them by ignoring them. This is good and necessary most of the
time. But there may be times when we need to go before God and see if
He is trying to get our attention.
It would be wrong and foolish to get into discouragement or
condemnation and assume that God must be getting at us because of
something we have done. That is what Satan would like us to do. We
must stand firm on the foundation that God, our Father, has accepted
us once for all. He has not only forgiven us all our sins, but He has
also promised not to bring them up against us (He.8:12), condemn us
(Ro.8:1) or accuse us (Ro.8:33,34). But since He loves us so much that
He wants us to become like Him, He will discipline us now and then if
we need it (He.12:10). That is something we need to take note of, and
not confuse it with accusations from Satan or people.
God disciplines us only rarely, when normal warnings through His word
and the Spirit do not reach us. He tries first of all to get our
attention by letting something go wrong, and if we continue to be
foolish and neglect His correction, He may let things continue to go
wrong. This may take various forms, such as unusual sickness, people
or things that keep troubling us, etc. Without letting it take us to
confusion or discouragement we can ask God if He is trying to say
something to us. If He tells us something, we can take action. If He
does not, we must give up this line of thought and go on to facing
things in a natural way.
Jesus spoke about what happens if we will not forgive others in our
heart even though He has forgiven us much. Using the parable of a
servant who did not forgive his fellow servant, Jesus said that just
as his master the king sent torturers to him till he repaid his debt,
the Heavenly Father would do the same with us if we would not forgive
others (Mt.18:34,35). What are torturers in our context but things
that keep on troubling us without let up? We must also remember that
even though this parable addressed the matter of not forgiving others
it could be indicative of what God will do for other serious sins
too.
The important thing is to be honest enough to face up to the
possibility that God may be trying to say something to us, and also to
be bold enough to rest in His love even when He chastens us. God warns
us not to take His discipline lightly nor to allow it to condemn us
(He.12:5,6). We must also be able to leave this possibility aside once
we have placed the matter before God and He has not indicated anything
in this direction.
Another rare possibility to consider is whether we are facing an
attack from Satan.
Our foundation must be God's love for us.