Suffering in the Christian Life; The chastening of the Lord…

Suffering in the Christian Life; The chastening of the Lord…

Suffering, sometimes called tribulation; affliction; distresses…our Lord Jesus Christ has budgeted for it. He takes it in His stride; He went this way himself… And He has made every provision when you have to go in any degree this way.

Suffering (or whatever words you’d like to use) what is the divine intention in it?

Well let consider that tribulation works unto endurance; and endurance testedness; and testedness works unto a new holy confidence and assurance. Paul provides a general sketch of these in Romans 5…

What other intentions are there from God in the sufferings of one sort or another such as physical or circumstantial, physiological or the world of persecution?

Is there a divine intention in it? Of course there is…nothing touches the child of God; but what God allows. In the center of the circle is the will of God; and there we stand. There can be no second causes; all come from His dear hand; and it is good to ask ourselves when we are in the midst of trouble, if God has an intention; and would He reveal what we need to learn from it.

The word of God tells us in many places, very definite intention in some of the sufferings that come to the saints. They don’t and aren’t always along this line, but many are. There are a number of purposes God has and they are to be regarded. God chastens; and there are sometimes hard experiences as in the wilderness regarding the Lord chastening his people…

Deuteromy 8: 2-3; 5
2 And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.

3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.

5 Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee.

David in Psalm 6 regarded many of the hardships he endured as chastening, and speaks about sickness, sickness nearly unto death; he says there in his prayer “O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.”

And, in Psalm 94: 12 David says: Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy law; 13 That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity,

Prayer
Dear Lord, my heart desire is to follow you despite situations, sufferings and chastening. Whatever intentions you have in the sufferings; help me to understand that nothing touches the child of God; but what God allows.