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Yet It Was The Lord's Will

             Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes[c] his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. (Isaiah 53:10-11)

Sometimes, people ask why bad things happen to good people. Today’s verse explores that. It was the Lord’s will to crush the righteous servant, because through the suffering of the one, many would be blessed and justified. He would bear their iniquities. People who suffer can do one of three things. They can rise to help others who are suffering (which would make them useless if no one else suffered). They can be defeated by their suffering and, very likely, bring about the suffering of others. Or they can provide an opportunity for others to do one of those things. None of the suffering needs to be of the level that Jesus faced or His reason for facing i, and none of us can accomplish what He accomplished through His suffering, but the principle is there.

The key takes us back to yesterday’s verse, and the concept of scorning the shame. Frequently, suffering is seen either as a sign of some sort of failure.  Like Job’s friends, we figure that if someone suffers, it’s because they’re horrible people. Good people “shouldn’t” suffer. But Scripture submits that we aren’t good. We are sinners in need of a salvation we can’t provide for ourselves, or anyone else. There was only one person who lived and died as a good person. He suffered because we’re not good, to make it possible for us to live. Instead of seeing suffering as a punishment or something shameful, perhaps we should see it as an opportunity. I know that pain and strong emotions tend to reduce the universe to their size, shape, and cause, but that’s why we need Scripture and other people to remind us of the truth. 

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