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Thursday, 16 August 2007

Even though I walk through the shadow of death...

It’s strange that I should study this on holiday! I don’t feel like I’m in the shadow of the valley of death! God must be talking about my past and how close I came to it more than once!

In Isaiah it reads:

'I would have perished under my affliction, if it wasn't for your law.'

God has a law - the law of life. The universe lives by the law of life, it's a simple law; one law.It speaks, 'Everything is under and by my authority,' Thus sayeth the Lord.

I look back to all I have been through. I know everyone has a story and one day I shall tell you mine.

I think about the language used here and here are some thoughts:

lived': Learned, experienced, gained wisdom in, as a result of.

Through': Not left behind, no barrier or blockage but a steady way through, passing entrance and exit.

'Perish': To be crushed under the weight of. To be worn out of use of. Exhausting a resource, to die, to exist no more.

It was by God's law of authority that I 'lived through' my afflictions. God authorised my journey with no detours, he allowed all that happened...

Bad things happen to good people and bad things happen to those who love God. Why? We don’t know, does he protect us? Yes he does. Then why do things go wrong? We don’t know why sometimes God protects us from calamity and why other times he allows things to happen to us though we feel at the time we cannot bear it.

One thing for sure is that God is there with us in it and he gives us strength to endure it.

Suffering is included in many other religions and yet seen as part of it and is not questioned. Why then can we not accept that God, Jesus might allow what we perceive bad things to happen to us?

There’s lots of reasons behind suffering in the Christian faith but one of them is to bring strength of character, another is to help others who are also suffering. So why have suffering at all? Well, once there was no suffering until man decided to walk away from God thinking he didn’t know best, well why would he? You know, your maker? Your designer. Why would he have the manual to your life?

And still today people think this way – I did.

But do we go our own way or do we just think that we do?

Proverbs 16:9 reads In his heart a man plans his course but the Lord determines his steps...

and I am wiser, more able and mature as a result of this. I regret nothing, only seeing how God turns all things round, for our good and his glory.

Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

' I would have perished under my afflictions, if it wasn't for your law.'

Thankyou God for your law.