Shall We Accept Good From God, And Not Trouble?

Job 2:10 – He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

Job 1:20-21 – At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”

2 Samuel 7:14 – I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands.

1 Corinthians 11:32 – Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world.

Hebrews 12:5-7,11 – And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?...No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Application:

• ·         Trouble and suffering are not merely punishment for sin; for God’s people they may serve as a trial or as a discipline that culminates in spiritual gain.
• ·         Job’s faith leads him to see the sovereign God’s hand at work, and that gives him repose even in the face of calamity.
• ·         As God’s redeemed children we are disciplined—just as parents discipline their children.
• ·         Suffering and persecution should be seen as corrective and instructive training for our spiritual development as God’s children.
• ·         God chastens us in order to correct our faults.
• ·         God’s discipline is evidence that we are His children.
• ·         Far from being a reason for despair, discipline is a basis for encouragement and perseverance.
• ·         When received submissively, discipline is wholesome and beneficial.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV