Is That You, God?

"You hurled me into the deep, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me" (Jonah 2:3).

Wait a second, Jonah. That wasn't God. It was the sailors who hurled you into the deep.

Or was it?

You may think your boss fired you for stealing office supplies, but could it have been God?

You may think the police arrested you for driving under the influence, but could it have been God?

You may think your professor got you kicked out of school for cheating, but could it have been God?

Sometimes God actually causes the terrible circumstances that stop you in your tracks and force you to deal with your problems.

As we mentioned in a prior post, we tend to think of God's provision as something that feels good, but sometimes God loves us enough to provide consequences that are painful. As C.S. Lewis said, pain is often God's "megaphone to rouse a deaf world". What God wants to communicate to us in a whisper, lessons we desperately need to learn but stubbornly refuse, often are only learned through painful situations. So, God allows us to endure pain -- deliberately brings pain upon us.

But he's not doing it to pay us back.

He's doing it to bring us back.