Daily Devotional for Saturday, July 4

Israel’s Sin and Suffering

”Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and will recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness. And now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of mine hand,” Hosea 2:9, 10.
An octopus has eight arms, and one of the functions of the octopus’ arms is to reach out and grab prey. Sin functions similarly to the octopus’ arms, it reaches out and grabs its prey, and a consequence that sin always brings with it is suffering.
The people of Israel were in the clutches of sin. They had forgotten God who was the source of all their provisions. The people of Israel had used the things God provided for them for idol worship and had given the idol gods credit for being the source of the resources that they possessed. The people of Israel’s sin also included not knowing and ignoring the fact that the Lord was the true provider of their corn, wine and oil and had multiplied the silver and gold that they possessed and offered them to the idol gods.
You will suffer in your spiritual life whenever you forget the Lord and ignore all the things He has done for you. Sin separates you from God which deprives you of joy, peace, protection and comfort; sin leaves you open to be captive to Satan’s will, and it takes away good things you can have in the future. A tentacle of sin and it’s deception is that it fools you into believing you are having a good time when you are out of fellowship with God. However, in reality you are suffering because you are separated from God. The mercy of God uses the suffering from sin to draw you closer to him when you repent.

FINAL THOUGHT
“Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word” (Psalm 119:67).

Andrew McClung