May peace and grace from our Lord Jesus Christ be multiplied in your life this day! I pray for the Word of God to penetrate your spirit and to be established in your spirit, soul and body. Yesterday we looked at several examples from the Bible where physical healing came after the person repented of his sins. We discussed that illness, pain and suffering can be the result of sin.
«Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven» (James, 5:13-15).
We see that without forgiveness of sins and prayer of faith there can’t be any relief for the one who has sinned. Sin as a source of misery can also hinder your prayer of faith. And if illness or suffering is linked to sin, then the only way to be delivered is to repent of the sins and to receive God’s forgiveness. Let’s look at another Scripture passage. «He turns rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground; a fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of those who dwell in it» (Psalm, 107:33-34).
Based on the Scripture above, it is obvious that blessing can turn into curse because of wickedness in the life of people who dwell in the land. Lawlessness and wickedness are sins that turn blessing into curse in a person’s life. One’s sins can change God’s blessings into curses. Sin changes rivers into wilderness and Eden into suffering from hell.So sufferings can be the result of personal sins, as well as deliberate or unconscious trespassing of God’s laws. Sufferings and pain can be the result of ignorance.Ignorance is a person’s choice; he or she does not want to make an effort to obtain the necessary knowledge and ease his life through it. God’s Word says: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea, 4: 6).
The lack of vision, knowledge or useful information can become the source of destruction and tragedy. There is a saying that not knowing the law does not relief from the responsibility; not knowing God’s laws or moral blindness multiplies human sufferings on earth.Every person must gain knowledge and understanding of God’s provision; we must know what God has done for us in Christ so that we can lessen human suffering. The lack of such knowledge can cause great pain. It is like a person starving because he does not know about state aid. The lack of knowledge of one’s rights and privileges can cause unnecessary problems.I once heard a story about a man who bought a ticket for a long journey on a ship. When he ate all of his dried bread that he took with him, he was starving during the rest of his trip; he had spent all of his money to get the ticket. The problem was that he simply did not know that when he purchased his ticket he also bought 3 meals a day for the whole trip. Not knowing caused him to suffer. It happens to so many people around us. They suffer simply because they do know make an effort to find out about the privileges that God has given them.We must be informed to be reformed. God’s Word is the source of divine information and the truth that enlightens people and shines the light of revelation necessary for victorious living.You should love God’s Word; you should love knowledge and when you do it brings blessing into your life!God bless you abundantly!Till tomorrow!Pastor Rufus Ajiboye
