Divinely inspired distress - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Judges 10:6-10,

"Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord. They served
the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon,
the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites and the gods of the
Philistines. And because the Israelites forsook the Lord and no longer
served him, he became angry with them. He sold them into the hands of
the Philistines and the Ammonites, who that year shattered and crushed
them. For eighteen years they oppressed all the Israelites on the east
side of the Jordan in Gilead, the land of the Amorites. The Ammonites
also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin and the house
of Ephraim; and Israel was in great distress. Then the Israelites
cried out to the Lord, 'We have sinned against you, forsaking our God
and serving the Baals.'"

Reflecting the depraved nature of mankind's sinful nature, Israel
engaged in worshiping the invented deities of the peoples they had
contact with. From the above account it seems they pursued any cult,
any religion, any "ism" but God himself. They displaced God in their
personal lives as well as the life of the nation. I note that it was
the Gentile nations in the midst of their activities of child
sacrifice and temple prostitution that the Israelites joined with. It
is not just Israel, it is all mankind.

God's sense of justice, his very own nature, demands judgment for sin
and rebellion. While I may wish God's love will preclude all judgment,
it is not going to be the case. The Bible that tells me God is love
also tells me that when Jesus Christ returns here from heaven it will
look like this, "I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a
white horse, whose rider [Jesus Christ] is called Faithful and True.
With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire,
and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no
one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and
his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him,
riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out
of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the
nations. 'He will rule them with an iron scepter.' He treads the
winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on
his thigh he has this name written: King of kings and Lord of lords."
Revelation 19:11-16.

In the following chapter we read about the fearful end of all sinners,
"Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth
and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I
saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books
were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The
dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the
books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades
gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged
according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into
the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's
name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the
lake of fire." Revelation 20:11-15.

Having said this, there is a very important observation to be made
regarding the Israelites relative to their suffering in Judges 10. The
Lord caused it and we are informed as to why the Lord brought about it
about. It resulted in Israel crying out to the Lord for deliverance.
The Lord used distress to get their attention that they might reach
out to him.

The scene provided us in Revelation of the great white throne judgment
is horrific and without any possible remedy. In light of that, the
Lord, in his great love for us will at times bring misery, suffering
or distress into our lives to draw us to him. Otherwise we may not
recognize our great need of his deliverance, seek his salvation and
make that choice to escape that "fiery lake of burning sulfur"
Revelation 21:8 to join his family, have a place at his table and
enjoy him in paradise for all eternity.

This is the point Paul was making in Acts 17:26-27, "From one man he
made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth;
and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where
they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps
reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of
us." As God does this he will often engage in something Paul observes
in Romans 8:20-21, "The creation was subjected to frustration, not by
its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope
that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay
and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God."

The Lord will bring distress, suffering and misery at times out of a
great love for us so that we sense our need of him, we sense our need
of deliverance, reach out to him and embrace him in faith. He does
this that we not bask in health, prosperity, comfort and a pleasant
existence that will keep us spiritually asleep until we find ourselves
left out of the Lamb's book of life and cast into that lake of fire.

Divinely inspired distress is an expression of God's great love for
each one of us.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com