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Thursday, April 9th, 2015
CityLight Church’s One Year Bible Reading Plan
Deuteronomy 33:1-29
Luke 13:1-21
Psalm 78:65-72
Proverbs 12:25
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Commentary from Pastor Mike White:
And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things?” – Lk 13:2
Jesus explained to the people that the Galileans who were tortured by Pilate didn’t suffer because they were bad; they suffered because Pilate (the one who tortured) got his hands on them. In other words, the victims were not to blame for being chosen.
Satan causes suffering. It is never our prerogative to assume that if people around us are suffering, it is their own fault. More importantly, God is never to blame for the trials we go through in life. He is always perfect, and He is always good.
It is also never fair to blame ourselves for suffering we experience. When we encounter suffering it doesn’t mean we have been bad. We see this principle illustrated first-hand in the Book of Job. Job’s friends believed in retribution theology; they assumed that Job had earned his punishment through bad behavior. The reality, however, is that the enemy was behind Job’s suffering all along (see Job 1:12)!
When you suffer, do not lose heart. Satan seeks to bring suffering on us, but God declares He will redeem us!
Prayer:
Father, I know that You are good! Thank You for protecting me from everything Satan would try and do to cause me harm. You don’t bring suffering on my life; You redeem me from it!