punishing – when it hurts

“God has not been trying an experiment on my faith or love in order to find out their quality. He knew it already. It was I who didn’t. In this trial He makes us occupy the dock, the witness box, and the bench all at once. He always knew that my temple was a house of cards. His only way of making me realize the fact was to knock it down.”

C. S. Lewis; A Grief Observed

Sometimes it feels like God is playing some kind of sick game with us.

Or we think he is testing us.

Or punishing us.

All of the above are normal feelings.

But the Bible says God’s ways are not like ours; his thoughts are not like ours.

That’s difficult for us. We only see in 3 dimensions.

God is not confined. That’s where faith comes in. You either trust and believe or you do not.

He teaches us about ourselves and how much we need Him, and beneath us are his everlasting arms.

Even in death, which seems like the absolute end, He is there.

~~~

Photo credit: Doha Sam / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA

You may have had an abortion.

Deep inside, you may wonder if it was right or wrong.

You may feel the emotional pain from terminating your pregnancy, even if you were okay with it at the time.

If you are struggling with having an abortion, I have something to tell you. God forgives. You may not think you did anything wrong to need forgiveness. But the fact you are feeling so miserable, or the abortion still haunts you after several years, you may be dealing with guilt.

We are limited in our human understanding – as amazing as we are! We are wired to be hurt by our actions. The 10 commandments are not to hurt us – but to help us. It’s like God telling us to avoid these things because you are fragile and it will end up hurting you.

But the good part is God is merciful. The Bible tells us so much about how God is compassionate toward us.

God is not punishing you. God loves you. And He wants more than you know to not feel the guilt. He forgives when we go to Him. And only He, the one who made you, is able to erase the past.