Striking and Healing
I hope we can all remember that God is love. That is His very nature. He can't act in any way, except in love, since that is who He is. This is true when God has to strike us for our sins. He always does it in love. He does it to correct us and to bring us to Himself, where we will be doing much better than we were when we were in our sins. This is true for everyone in the world. God wants everyone to know Him and to have a close relationship with Him. He enjoys the fellowship with us and, we receive so many benefits from walking with the Lord of the universe. We see a good example of this principle in Isaiah's message to Egypt. (Isaiah 19:22) Even though Egypt was a pagan country, God struck them for their sins. He was not just striking them, but He was striking and healing. That way, they would turn to the Lord and He would be receptive to their prayers and bring healing. I am sure we have all experienced this work of God in our lives.
Sin brings death. Sin causes destruction in our lives and in the lives of others. God loves us. and He doesn't want us to experience spiritual death through unforgiven sins or the destruction sin brings to our life and relationships. Therefore, He strikes us for our sins, as a good father would discipling his child. God does it in love to get our attention. Then, if we will hear His heart and repent of our sin, so that we stop doing what displeases God, He will be receptive to our prayers, and He will bring healing to our heart. Yes, we all need spiritual healing from the effects of sin, and God is the only Healer for that damage. He is the Only One who can mend us and make us like we ought to be. Then, we can live a full and meaningful life, as we walk with Him, clean and released from sin's effects by His power. He will do that for Egypt. He will use the same striking and healing to bring us close to Him. All we have to do is to repent and return to the Lord, or like Egypt, repent of our sins and trust Jesus as Lord and Savior for the first time.
#NHBaptistdotorg
Tomorrow, I intend to read Isaiah 21-23.