Today is Monday, October 8th, 2018, and here is your daily devote. Several consequences can result from an incorrect view of suffering. When we look at suffering the way Job's friends did, we diminish God's authority to that of a traffic cop in the sky, hitting people with costly tickets when they mess up. There are also people who treat God like a sanctified Santa Claus who is the jolly rewarder to good boys and girls.
Of course, that also means cold and switches in the stockings of the bad kids. Jesus' disciples also struggled with proper view of suffering as evidence with their encounter with the man who was born blind in John, chapter 9. When they saw this man, they asked Jesus who sent the man or his parents. Their logic was that the man's blindness was punishment for sin, and since the man was born blind, that meant either he sinned in the womb or he was faced punishment for his parents sin.
Neither answer was satisfying, but Jesus responded that the man's blindness was not because of sin, but was given for God's glory to be shown. John, chapter 9, verse 3, like Job, God did not abandon this man. God was right there with them, bringing about his glory through their adversity. Think about this.
How encouraging is it to know that God is near and present even when your feelings deceive you into thinking he is not? Think back to a season of suffering in your own life. Did God use that suffering to lead you into a different kind of relationship with him? Thanks for listening to the Daily Depot.
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