Gods Sabbath

306

E NTERING INTO G OD ’ S S ABBATH R EST

AVital Distinction

To avoid misunderstandings or extremes, a distinction must be made between afflictions which come upon the individual as a result of his or her iniquity, and those which the Lord permits Satan to impose upon the righteous. If we imagine we are suf fering in order to give a needed demonstration in the great con troversy, when the real cause of our trouble is a deviation from God’s ways, then we will not only be deceiving ourselves but we will also give a false impression to others. “If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suf fer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.” 1Peter 4:15–16. Therefore Christians must be able to distinguish between evils which fall upon them because of their sins, and those which come because of their righteousness. If the trouble is self imposed through sin, then it is critical to be cleansed of the cause through acceptable confession and forsaking of that sin. If we follow those steps, we will thus enable the Lord to solve our difficulty. If we are in doubt as to whether our afflictions are self-caused or a test of our righteousness, then we need only give the ques tion to our mighty Problem Solver who will clearly show us the source of our trouble. We will then know exactly how to relate to it to provide a valuable witness to others.