Lamentations 3:31-33 - Getting Our Attention.
Lamentations 3:31-33 (NIV) For no one is
cast off by the Lord forever. 32 Though he brings
grief, he will show compassion, so great is his
unfailing love. 33 For he does not willingly bring
affliction or grief to anyone.
Lamentations 3:31-33 (NLT) For no one is
abandoned by the Lord forever. 32 Though he brings
grief, he also shows compassion because of the
greatness of his unfailing love. 33 For he does not
enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow.
COMMENTARY PEARL
In the much-loved Psalm 23, David wrote,
"Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me." The
rod and the staff were shepherd's tools. The
staff was along, crooked instrument the shepherd
would use when a sheep was going astray. But the
rod was simply a club that was used when the
staff wasn't working anymore.
We may think that a club is extremely
cruel to use on a poor sheep. But better to get
whacked with a club than eaten by a wolf! Sheep are
incredibly dumb. They will actually line up to die. If
one sheep goes over a cliff, the other sheep
will say, "Get in line. We're all going to die
today. Let's go. Single file." The shepherd
sometimes has to use extra corrective measures on a
wayward sheep that could otherwise lead others
astray.
I have seen the Lord use the rod of
suffering or sickness to get someone's attention. He
will say, "You really shouldn't do that" and then
convicts them by His Spirit. But they might ignore
Him. So He tells them, "Don't do that. I don't
want you to do that." If they continue to ignore
Him, BAM! God will use His rod: "I told you ...
don't do that." I have met a lot of people in
hospitals who have come to Christ. Unfortunately, a
lot of them don't stay with Christ. But others
continue to walk with the Lord.
Maybe God has recently whacked you with
His rod to get your attention. Maybe He has
given you a wake-up call in the form of suffering
or sickness, and you've been wondering why.
The book of Hebrews tells us, "My dear
child, don't shrug off God's discipline, but don't
be crushed by it either. It's the child he
loves that he disciplines; the child he embraces,
he also corrects" (12:5-6, MSG).
Don't ever doubt it: if God has allowed
hardship or suffering into your life for a season, it
is because He loves you. [Every Day with Jesus
by Greg Laurie]
COMMENTARY
Trials Will Come
Our heavenly Father does not willingly
afflict or grieve the children of men. He has His
purpose in the whirlwind and the storm, in the fire
and in the flood. The Lord permits calamities to
come to His people to save them from greater
dangers. He desires everyone to examine his own heart
closely and carefully, and then draw near to God,
that God may draw near to him. Our life is in the
hands of God. He sees dangers threatening us that
we cannot see. He is the Giver of all our
blessings; the Provider of all our mercies; the Orderer
of all our experiences. He sees the perils that
we cannot see. He may permit to come upon His
people that which fills their hearts with sadness,
because He sees that they need to make straight
paths for their feet, lest the lame be turned out
of the way. He knows our frame, and remembers
that we are dust. Even the very hairs of our head
are numbered. He works through natural causes to
lead His people to remember that He has not
forgotten them, but that He desires them to forsake
the way which, if they were permitted to follow
unchecked and unreproved, would lead them into great
peril.
Trials come to us all to lead us to
investigate our hearts, to see if they are purified from
all that defiles. Constantly the Lord is working
for our present and eternal good. Things occur
which seem inexplainable, but if we trust in the
Lord, and wait patiently for Him, humbling our
hearts before Him, He will not permit the enemy to
triumph.
The Lord will save His people in His own
way, by such means and instrumentalities that the
glory will be returned to Him. To Him alone
belongs the praise. .
Every soul that is saved must be a
partaker with Christ of His sufferings, that he may
be a partaker with Him of His glory. How few
understand why God subjects them to trial. It is by the
trial of our faith that we gain spiritual
strength. The Lord seeks to educate His people to lean
wholly upon Him. He desires them, through the
lessons that He teaches them, to become more and
more spiritualized. If His Word is not followed
in all humility and meekness, He brings to them
experiences which, if rightly received, will help to
prepare them for the work to be done in His name.
God desires to reveal His power in a marked
manner through the lives of His people. {UL 65}
CLOSING THOUGHT
God Is Doing What's Best for Us
God is at work in each of us whether we
know it or not, whether we want it or not.
Lamentations 3:33 says, He takes no pleasure in making
life hard, in throwing roadblocks in the way.
He doesnt delight in our sufferings, but He
delights in our development. Its what Paul pointed
out in Philippians 1:6 when he wrote, God
began doing a good work in you, and I am sure He
will continue until it is finished when Jesus
Christ comes again.
Dont see your struggle as an
interruption to life but as preparation for life. No one
said the road would be easy or painless. But God
will use this mess for something good. This
trouble you are in isnt punishment, its
training. It is the normal experience of children. God
is doing whats best for us, training us to
live Gods holy best! [Max Lucado Daily
Devotional at maxlucado.com]
LESSONS ON PERSEVERANCE IN NATURE
A Lesson In Perseverance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjnES-GEhBg
BLESSED SONG ABOUT PERSEVERING; BLESSINGS IN
DISQUIZE
Blessings - Laura Story (with lyrics)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQan9L3yXjc
LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS TOPIC:
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2012/20121129-1536.html
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
Most Important Decision in Life:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0
Steps to Peace by Billy Graham:
https://stepstopeace.org/
A Man without Equal by Bill Bright:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVa7UoruIo
Seeking God Made Real:
http://vimeo.com/31489782
Prayer Made Real:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE
Importance of Choice:
http://creationhealth.com/CREATION-Health/Choice [click on video]
Medical Seminar on Healthful Living by David
DeRose, MD, MPH:
https://www.smartlifestyletv.com/lifestart
LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies:
http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
Amazing Facts Bible Studies:
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx
Hope Awakens Bible Study Guides:
https://www.hopeawakens.study/lesson-header;id=2
Glow Tract Video Bible Studies:
http://www.bibleresearch.info/
LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS
Islam and Christianity in Prophecy, The
Third and Final Conflict by Tim Roosenberg:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHSJB-fuHLU&list=PLWhQIHGTHlkaGg5Cwe3NDzWtFX8vNSpsE
Unlocking Bible Prophecies by Cami Oetman of
Adventist World Radio: https://www.awr.org/bible
Revelation Now by Pastor Doug Batchelor:
https://www.revelationnow.com/
Hope Awakens by John Bradshaw of IIW:
https://itiswritten.tv/programs/hope-awakens
Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657
