It's commonly said that affliction and suffering come because there is sin in the world, and that God really has nothing to do with it. He is there to save from the effects of sin, but would never do anything to cause trial of his people, or even of those who aren't of his people.
Nevertheless, this is not a Biblical view of God - God does indeed bring trials and affliction, even upon those who call upon him. In fact, these trials are intended by God for some good end, if they are suffered by those who are His. Some would argue that this is true of God in the New Testament era, for it is his servant Paul who pens, in Romans 8:28
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
and notes earlier in Romans 5:3, that suffering, or tribulation, produces patience, one of the fruits of the Spirit:
And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
God's molding of us as His children, and his production in us of the fruit of the Spirit, is done through good as well as bad times. One of the chiefest goods that God brings forth as well in us through trials and suffering is repentance and perseverance in repentance.
This is nothing new, though - in the Old Testament, the faithful knew that this too was characteristic of Jehovah. Note in Hosea 6:1-3 what is said:
Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. Then shall we know, [if] we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter [and] former rain unto the earth.
Calvin makes note of the use of this passage by the Prophet in his commentary:
We must then remember, as we have
before observed, that the beginning of repentance is a sense of
God's mercy; that is, when men are persuaded that God is ready to
give pardon, they then begin to gather courage to repent; otherwise
perverseness will ever increase in them; how much soever their sin
may frighten them, they will yet never return to the Lord. And for
this purpose I have elsewhere quoted that remarkable passage in Ps.
130, 'With thee is mercy, that thou mayest be feared;' for it cannot
be, that men will obey God with true and sincere heart, except a
taste of his goodness allures them, and they can certainly
determine, that they shall not return to him in vain, but that he
will be ready, as we have said, to pardon them.
...
It is further needful to observe, that the faithful do here, in
the first place, encourage themselves, that they may afterwards lead
others with them; for so the words mean. He does not say, "Go,
return to Jehovah;" but, "Come, let us return unto Jehovah". We then
see that each one begins with himself; and then that they mutually
exhort one another; and this is what ought to be done by us: when
any one sends his brethren to God, he does not consult his own good,
since he ought rather to show the way. Let every one, then, learn to
stimulate himself; and then, let him stretch out his hand to others,
that they may follow. We are at the same time reminded that we ought
to undertake the care of our brethren; for it would be a shame for
any one to be content with his own salvation, and so to neglect his
brethren. It is then necessary to join together these two things, -
To stir up ourselves to repentance, - and then to try to lead others
with us.
Brothers and sisters, do we do this?! Why does the Christian community in general act as though our faith was something to be exercised alone, in our closets!? Can we not exhort one another to faithful walking with God? Why do we treat each other as though each one's faith was a "personal, private thing" that NOBODY can or should ever inquire about? Why have we bought the American lie of individualism, and brought its implications into the church? I believe fully that one of the reasons the church is so weak and wavering in this day is that we stay completely disconnected from others, and remove ourselves from their lives (and want others out of OURS!) Oh, may God give us a fresh sense of our community, and our NEED for community! May he give us a new understanding of the benefit of accountability with each other in the church! We then may, if God be pleased, see a renewed community at work for service and fellowship in the world today - a righteous and humble community that is truly peculiar.
Further, Calvin notes:
Then he adds, "We shall live in his sight", or before him. Here
again the faithful strengthen themselves, for God would favor them
with his paternal countenance, after he had long turned his back on
them, "We shall live before his face". For as long as God cares not
for us, a sure destruction awaits us; but as soon as he turns his
eyes to us, he inspires life by his look alone. Then the faithful
promise this good to themselves that God's face will shine again
after long darkness: hence also they gather the hope of life, and at
the same time withdraw themselves from all those obstacles which
obscure the light of life; for while we run and wander here and
there, we cannot lay hold on the life which God promises to us, as
the charms of this world are so many veils, which prevent our eyes
to see the paternal face of God. We must then remember that this
sentence is added, that the faithful, when it pleases God to turn
his back on them, may not doubt but that he will again look on them.
...
Now this passage teaches us, that when God hides his face, we
act foolishly if we cherish our unbelief; for we ought, on the
contrary, as I have already said, to contend with this destructive
disease, inasmuch as Satan seeks nothing else but to sink us in
despair. This his device then ought to be understood by us, as Paul
reminds us, (2 Cor. 2: 11;) and the Holy Spirit supplies us here
with weapons, by which we may repel this temptation of Satan, "What?
Thou seest that God is angry with thee; nor is it of any use to thee
to attempt to come to him, for every access is shut up." This is
what Satan suggests to us, when we are sensible of our sins. What is
to be done? The Prophet here propounds a remedy, "We shall know;"
"Though now we are sunk in thick darkness, though there never shines
on us, no, not even a spark of light, yet we shall know (as Isaiah
says, 'I will hope in the Lord, who hides his face from Jacob') that
this is the true exercise of our faith, when we lift up our eyes to
the light which seems to be extinguished, and when in the darkness
of death we yet continue to promise to ourselves life, as we are
here taught: We shall then know; further, We shall pursue after the
knowledge of Jehovah; though God withdraws his face, and, as it were
designedly, doubles the darkness, and all knowledge of his grace be,
as it were, extinct, we shall yet pursue after this knowledge; that
is, no obstacle shall keep us from striving, and our efforts will at
length make their way to that grace which seems to be wholly
excluded from us."
Let us hear and be glad, even under the suffering of this age, for the Lord God will bind us up and make us strong in our weakness. Let us go and worship him in humility and with a penitent heart, when our suffering makes us sensible of our sin.
Posted by toddpedlar at August 6, 2004 08:17 AM | TrackBack