Part of the Good news is that God does care. In fact, He cared
enough to become a man and die for the sins of the whole world (John
3:16). He feels our pain, because He took it upon Himself on the cross. God
does not condone the deeds of the wicked or those who condemn the righteous (Proverbs
17:15). God repays those who afflict the helpless with suffering,
and He gives relief to all of those who are distressed, if not in this life,
then in the next (2 Thessalonians 1:6-7).
So, do not be afraid of those who do evil, or allow their
escapades to upset you. God already planned their demise (Psalm
37:1-2). God avenges all of those who transgress or deceive
someone else. He already solemnly warned that this would happen (1
Thessalonians 4:6). He is the God of second chances. He forgives anyone who repents of their evil deed. He is
slow to anger and full of loving kindness, but He also keeps His Word (Numbers
14:8; Psalm 103:8; Deuteronomy 7:9). God hates the suffering in the
world more than we do. That is why He became a man. He died to save us all from an
eternity in hell.
God is not slow about defending us, nor is He ignorant of
our plight, nor disinterested in our circumstances. He is simply patient and
kind. He never brings judgment on a person or a nation without first sending a
warning to them, so that they can repent. He wants everyone to receive Him, so
that He can bring us all Home with Him. When people who have known pain,
finally connect with God, they realize that He has loved them every moment of
their life.
God walks through our painful times with us and it hurts
Him every bit as much as it does us. He carried that pain to the cross. The
closer we come to the eternal wisdom of God, the more foolish the wisdom of
this world becomes (1Corinthians 3:19). God uses our suffering to teach
us obedience and to perfect us into His image, just as Jesus’ suffering
perfected Him (Hebrews 5:8). When we finally feel His
encompassing love, we realize that what we suffered is nothing compared to what
He suffered. His love is perfect.
Do you want to experience perfect love? All that God
requires is that we freely come to Christ and receive Him as our Savior. Then,
we reject our life of sin and seek His Spirit’s direction each moment of every
day. We live a full life, because we see Him as He lives in and through us (John
14:19). The presence of His Spirit in our life proves that we are
a true child of God (Ephesians 1:14; 2 Corinthians 1:22). His
presence in our life works through us to build His Kingdom in the earth. We
thirst no more, because we found the fountain of life (John
4:14).
Prayer:
Father God, remind us to leave retribution in Your hands,
because You will always repay the evil doer who harms us (Romans
12:19). You judge every work ever done, even those things we do
in secret, the good and the evil. You reward the good and judge the evil (Ecclesiastes
12:13). Those who hurt us will not get away with it, even if we
forgive them, as You teach us to do (Matthew 6:14), because
You will hold them accountable (Hebrews 4:13). Help us to love our enemies and
to do good to those who despitefully use us (Luke 6:28).
Thought for the Day:
When people turn their heart away from God, they can no
longer hear His voice. 