Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your Word. It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes. I know,O Lord, that Your judgments are right and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me. Let I pray, Your merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to Your word to your servant. Let Your tender mercies come to me, that I may live; for Your law is my delight. (Ps.119:67,71,75&76)
We wonder why things happen in life. We try to change scenarios in our past to predict a different and desired present. God tells us to trust Him, not our own understanding. Many of the consequences or judgments that we are walking in today are actually training us for the great plans that God has in store for us.
The whole world is being taught that God no longer judges sin when that just isn’t true. Does God smile when murder is committed? Murder is still murder even though Jesus went to the cross. People are more accountable now in the time of grace because Jesus gave us a way out of living in sin through His great accomplishments when He died and rose again. Grace is God’s empowerment not to live in sin. Before Jesus died and rose, everyone was shown their sin through the law. No matter what we did, we could not remove our sins. The law was our taskmaster showing us our need for a Savior. Now that Jesus has come we need no longer be a slave to sin because of the power of God’s grace.
God’s Spirit was sent to live in us once Jesus was ascended into heaven. Jesus told us that He must go in order for the Comforter to come and that is what He did, now we have His Spirit living in us. Jesus said,”I did not come to judge the world but to save it.” This is absolute truth but that still doesn’t mean that God approves or looks the other way when sin is committed without repentance. Annanias and Saphiras were judged and they were under the new covenant. In Romans 12:19 it says,” do not take revenge my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written, It is Mine to avenge, I will repay says the Lord.” Obviously God still pours judgment out and has times of vengeance not because He is an angry God but because He is a just God and He knows best.
I understand God’s judgment because I have experienced it first hand and have walked through years of learning through His judgment. His discipline will prune, train, love, secure, save and teach. Had He not judged me, I would be dead today and out of His discipline my ministry was born to set the captives free.
When we start to walk in God’s ways out of love for Him something amazing happens. Our desire to please Him escalates and we find ourselves doing for God not out of duty but out of desire to do what pleases Him. Jesus said,” I will never abandon you nor reject you.” He walks us through every part of this life including His discipline and judgments. Hebrews 12:6 says,”the Lord disciplines the one He loves and He chastens everyone He accepts as His son.”
If you are walking through the process of being disciplined, endure and know that it is for your good. God is preparing you for the wonderful calling that He has placed upon you. You will now be able to say,”before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word.”
The Teaching Ministry of Michael Cannatello
TMMC
