An Article of Faith

Pain is one of God’s best creations. It is an essential tool to help us realize something is wrong and needs correction. It can be ignored momentarily, but there reaches a point where pain must be addressed.
If we have any desire to advance the cause of Christ, we must have our eyes in two directions. First, we must look at the kingdom of this world. Read the newspaper, listen to the news, and study current culture. We need to know what is happening around us. It is the context in which the work of God is being applied. We need to be, in some measure, a student of man – who he is, how he’s wired, what he thinks, and the outcomes that result from his choices in this world.
Second, we must also look up toward the kingdom of God. Every born-again believer in Jesus Christ has a dual citizenship in both worlds and the capacity to discern both: “But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for Him to return as our Savior” (Philippians 3:20 NLT).
God gives us His Word and His Spirit to impart to us all the understanding we need of each kingdom as we commune with Him. Without this heavenly commentary we are overwhelmed. And His diagnosis and prescriptions for this fallen world are the only accurate source of truth that brings healing.
When we maintain this dual vision we become like the “sons of Issachar, men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do” (1 Chronicles 12:32). Not only do we become a credible source of information on why things are happening, we can also predict where they are headed because we understand the ways and Word of God. And, most importantly, we can give help to those around us about what must be done to advance God’s kingdom. We can discern what God is saying to us. We become prophets to our age, and there has never been a season when prophets are more needed.
As we gaze in these two directions we see that God always brings pain when necessary. It is an act of His love and a means of His grace. The judgments of a perfect God are always exactly right. He never applies them if not needed, and He never applies them in ways that are incorrect. His acts of judgment to a life, a church, or a nation alert us to what is wrong and needs correction (see Psalm 51:4).
Sometimes God dispenses judgment by simply allowing us to have what we want (see Numbers 11). Often God’s judgments are more active. Even rulers can be used to accomplish His purposes: “The king’s heart is like a stream of water directed by the LORD; He guides it wherever He pleases” (Proverbs 21:1 (NLT).
Natural disasters are also under God’s sovereign control: “He makes these things happen either to punish people or to show His unfailing love” (Job 37:13 NLT). (Taken and adapted from: OneCry: A Nationwide Call for Spiritual Awakening. Visit www.onecry.com.)
“If My people,” declares the LORD, “who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV).
Jessie J. Charpentier Sr. is pastor of Jenkins Memorial Baptist Church in St. Martinville.