October 17, 2008

I wanted to write about a situation in my life right now because I thought it could possibly benefit someone else to hear it. I got some news this week about someone very close to me that caused me to immediately begin praying. Yesterday, as I was doing some things around my house, I was asking God how I should pray. Throughout the afternoon, the word "vengeance" kept coming into my mind. Just one word, but several different times throughout the day. Finally, I said "Okay, God. I will go look it up." I went to my online Bible and typed the word "vengeance" in to see what verses came up. Immediately, I knew which one was meant for this person.

Isaiah 35:4

say to those with fearful hearts,
       "Be strong, do not fear;
       your God will come,
       he will come with vengeance;
       with divine retribution
       he will come to save you."

So what exactly does "Vengeance" mean? I looked that up too. The word "Retaliation" came up. Then I looked up what "Retribution" means. The word "Justice" came up. This means, the verse could read

say to those with fearful hearts,
       "Be strong, do not fear;
       your God will come,
       he will come with retaliation;
       with divine justice
       he will come to save you."

I hear people say all the time that if there is a God, then why do these bad things happen to good people? Why are we faced with these trials? Why should we pray when God does not hear us? From this verse, it seems clear to me that God is reassuring us that He does hear. He wants those who are afraid to know that God will come to us. He, too, is angry at the things that Satan tries to throw at us. This passage in Isaiah says that not only will He come, but He will come with retaliation against the one who caused us to hurt, and with divine justice he will come to save us. Divine, meaning "emanating from God". Justice from God. As Christians, God is on our side. Not only are we fighting the battle, but He is also fighting for us. I also came to this passage in 1 Peter 4.

12Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. 13But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.

19So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

It seems like the natural reaction when trials come on us is to wonder why these things happen to us. I am a Christian, I am a good person, so why am I going through this? 1 Peter tells us not to be surprised when these things happen. We are supposed to rejoice in it. I know how crazy this sounds. How can we be happy when we are facing such huge giants? It is because we are children of God, and He has promised to use our situation to bring glory to Himself. We should not turn our back on God, and refuse to let good come of it. Instead, we need to trust God to do what He has planned.

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