The Purposes Of Suffering- Part 2

I cried out to the LORD because of my affliction, and He answered me. Jonah 2:2a

Last week I brought up a common question: if God is good why does He allow good people to suffer? God allows suffering as the natural consequence of sin. But we saw from the Old Testament account of the patriarch Job and that of the blind man healed by Jesus in John 9 that suffering is not always a direct punishment for a person’s sins.

The story of Jonah, however, shows us that sometimes it is. If you ever attended Sunday school, you probably know what happened to Jonah. After running away from God (or so he thought), getting on a boat going in the opposite direction he had been commanded to go, God sent a storm. Jonah realized he was being punished and told the men to throw him overboard in order to save themselves. When there seemed no other hope, they finally did so, and God sent a fish to swallow Jonah.

Teacher (closes book): The end.

Young students: No, no, Teacher, there’s more! Keep reading!

Teacher (acts surprised and then continues)…

Hopefully you know how the story ends. If you stop at the end of Jonah chapter one, you might think that the great fish was the punishment. Read on and you find in chapter 2 verse 1 that, “then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish’s belly.” Jonah didn’t die inside the whale. He was actually given three days grace– time to reflect, repent, and ask for forgiveness. It must have been a slimy, stinky three days in that pitch black holding cell, but we need to recognize that the storm was the punishment. The great fish was mercy.

I’ve had more than one lady at the jail tell me that being there, as unpleasant as it is, saved her life. Even when our own sins bring storms on our heads (and often on those around us), there is mercy. Yet, if we don’t see how our sins have caused our problems, we will be angry instead. Usually the ladies I talk to in the jail can see that their own choices have brought them there.

_{Can I see it in my life?}

If I’m honest, I often don’t see it. I don’t want to see it. I refuse to see it.

There are folks who truly don’t know right from wrong. They know nothing of God’s word or His ways. And they keep it that way because they’re angry at God, angry that He would allow them to suffer. They have no idea that they have lived their lives completely outside of His will. They are suffering from what is called in parenting “natural consequences.” It isn’t that God is angrily striking them with mishap. It’s that God’s ways are for our good, and when we sail off in the opposite direction, it does not lead to good. It leads to trouble.

But me? I do know God’s word. I know I’m supposed to be honest. I know I’m supposed to be humble. I know I’m supposed to forgive. I know I’m not supposed to gossip or be drunk. I know I’m supposed to speak words that encourage, not words that tear down. I know I’m supposed to control my actions and my words, yes, even when I’m angry or hurt. Like Jonah, I know I’m supposed to love my enemies and even share the gospel with them.

If I violate any of those, there are going to be negative consequences. God might send a storm on purpose to get my attention. Or a storm might just come because I stirred it up with my words, my emotions out of control, my exercising of my will in spite of knowing it’s wrong.

“This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing will be there,” (James 3:15-17).

Sometimes it takes a storm to get my attention. I pray that in those times, God will also send a fish to rescue me. And if that rescue isn’t pleasant, what did I expect? God, help me to be thankful for second chances.

Dear God, I know that every command You have given is for our good, and that anything outside of Your will is not what is best. Help me not to blame You or others when I must endure the consequences of my own sin. I thank You and praise You that the eternal consequence can be removed through the sacrifice of Your Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen.

by Christie Cole Atkins

Related Reading:

The Purposes Of Suffering – Part 3