The Divine Purpose in Affliction
By W. S. Sadler
THE MISSION OF PAIN AND THE LANGUAGE OF DISEASE. NO. 6.
The Divine Purpose in Affliction.
“I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offense, and seek My face; in their affliction they will seek me early.” Hosea 5:15. THERE is a wise and loving purpose in all the plans of God and the permissions of divine providence. In general, the purpose of affliction is to produce repentance. We are often called upon to endure affliction under such conditions as make it very difficult to find the cause of transgression which produced it, or to ascertain the divine purpose in permitting it to continue so long. “For He doth not afflict willingly [margin, “from His heart”], nor grieve the children of men.” Lam. 3:33. Affliction is not a part of God’s chosen plan for His creatures, and so He does not afflict willingly—from His heart. He does not desire to bring suffering and sickness upon us; but His desire to save us and lead us to repentance compels Him to do so when He has exhausted every other means to turn us from the way that leads to destruction. When God has spoken once, twice, or even three times, to His erring children, exhorting them, “Turn ye, turn ye, from your evil ways; for why will ye die?” and yet they continue in transgression, then it is that God permits the just harvest—the natural consequence of our sins—to fall upon us; hoping that pain and affliction may lead us to see the error of our way, and the folly of further resisting the love of God and the light of heaven. As it were, God holds back for a time the just penalty of our transgression, thus giving the sinner an opportunity to repent before the full harvest of his wrong-doing breaks upon him. But when patient forbearance fails to lead to repentance, there is but one thing more that God can do, and that is to permit the sinner to reap what he has sown. And this reaping has been carefully arranged by God to constitute the last corrective effort that shall be made to turn the transgressor from his sin. Let us further examine the words of the prophet: “Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? Let us search and try our ways, and turn again unto the Lord. Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens. We have transgressed and have rebelled.” Lam. 3:39–42. Rather than complain of our affliction, let us search and try our ways and turn again to the Lord. The penalty of our transgression condemns us, in that it clearly shows that we have departed from truth and righteousness. Then let us not criticize God, and complain of the penalty which reminds us that we are wrong-doers; but rather let us search out the cause of our troubles; “cease to do evil; learn to do well.” Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto the God of heaven, and say, “We have transgressed and rebelled.” So, then, we see that the divine purpose of affliction is, first, correction and cure; and after that, if the penalty of sin fails to correct the disposition to sin, the harvest of wrong-doing will ultimately destroy the sinner. So when the causes of transgression, either physical or spiritual, have been removed, then the correcting penalty ordinarily disappears, the disposition to transgress having been corrected. We may be forgiven for the cause of our affliction, but forgiveness of the cause is not always attended by the immediate removal of all the effects. To illustrate: You may plant thorns and thistles in your front yard. You may afterward see the folly of your doings and heartily repent; and the moment you repent,5God forgives you for the planting of the thorns and thistles. You are forgiven for the cause of your trouble; but the effects—the piercing thorns and the prickly thistles—remain. Forgiveness of the cause of affliction may be had upon repentance. Freedom from all the effects of transgression may not come instantly. These matters are in the hands of the One whose judgments are just and altogether righteous. “Cursed is the ground for thy sake.” Gen. 3:17. The curse was not pronounced upon the earth because of God’s wrath or anger, but because of His love. It was given for our sakes. It was better, under conditions of sin, that man should be obliged to labor hard and continuously to secure a livelihood, that he might have less disposition, time, and energy, to devote to evil thoughts and works. The curse was the best way God could bless man under sinful conditions. And so all afflictions, whether mental, moral, or physical, are for our sakes. When the divine purpose of love and mercy has been accomplished, and to just the extent and just as fast as it is accomplished, our afflictions of soul or body will disappear, either instantly or gradually, as a wise Father may deem best for His erring children.