Are Your Problems a Punishment From God?

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Are your problems an indication of God’s disapproval?

WHEN faced with adversity, many people feel that God is punishing them for some past wrong. Overwhelmed by a sudden avalanche of problems, they may be heard to lament: “Why me? What have I done to deserve this?” Should we conclude that our problems are an indication of divine disapproval? Are personal adversities really a punishment from God?

The Bible is filled with accounts of upright individuals who faced personal adversities. Although he was a loyal servant of God, Joseph endured years of unjust imprisonment. (Genesis 39:10-20; 40:15) The faithful Christian Timothy suffered from “frequent cases of sickness.” (1 Timothy 5:23) Even Jesus Christ, who never did wrong, was cruelly mistreated before suffering an agonizing death. (1 Peter 2:21-24) Hence, it is a mistake to conclude that adversity must be an expression of God’s displeasure. But if God is not responsible for adversity, who, if anyone, is?

Consider what the Bible reports about a man named Job. Without warning, he suddenly lost his wealth. Next, all ten of his children were killed in a windstorm. Soon thereafter, he was struck with a debilitating, loathsome disease. (Job 1:13-19; 2:7, 8) Such adversities led Job to cry out: “The hand of God has struck me down.” (Job 19:21, Today’s English Version) Evidently, like many today, Job felt that God was punishing him.

However, the Bible reveals that before Job’s trials began, God himself had described Job as “a man blameless and upright, fearing God and turning aside from bad.” (Job 1:8) In view of this expression of divine approval, it is clear that Job’s adversities were not a punishment from God.

The Bible shows that Satan the Devil was the cause of Job’s tragedies. (Job 1:7-12; 2:3-8) Furthermore, it identifies Satan as the chief source of our problems today when it states: “Woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.” (Revelation 12:12) As “the ruler of this world,” Satan has influenced many to engage in evil acts that have resulted in untold misery and heartache.—John 12:31; Psalm 37:12, 14.

We should not, however, be quick to blame the Devil for every adversity we experience. As a result of inherited sin and imperfection, we are prone to make unwise decisions that can cause us problems. (Psalm 51:5; Romans 5:12) For example, imagine a man who by choice neither eats properly nor gets sufficient rest. If this eventually leads to serious health problems, should he blame the Devil? No, the man has merely reaped the bitter consequences of his own poor judgment. (Galatians 6:7) In such an instance, it is just as a Bible proverb puts it: “A man’s own folly wrecks his life.”—Proverbs 19:3, The New English Bible .

Finally, it must be realized that many unpleasant experiences are simply the result of “time and unforeseen occurrence.” (Ecclesiastes 9:11) Consider the person who is unexpectedly caught in a rainstorm. Whether he will get a little wet or completely drenched may just depend on where he happens to be standing when the rain begins to fall. Similarly, in these “critical times hard to deal with,” negative conditions can quickly turn into a downpour of adversity. (2 Timothy 3:1-5) To what extent we are personally affected is often a matter of timing and circumstances, over which we may have little or no control. Does this mean, then, that we will always be plagued with adversity? See the whole Watchtower article www.watchtower.org

“Time and unforeseen occurrence befall them all.”—Ecclesiastes 9:11

 

IS GOD RESPONSIBLE FOR NATURAL DISASTERS?

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“THERE were bodies everywhere, and we could not recognize where our house used to be,” said a Sri Lankan man after a tsunami destroyed his village in December 2004. In an article on the disaster, a religion editor said that he sometimes finds himself “praying through clenched teeth.”

Many view natural disasters as divine punishment. One columnist described a devastating hurricane as “the fist of God.” In the United States, some religious leaders described events like Hurricane Katrina as “God’s wrath” on “sin cities.”

“GOD is love,” states the Bible. (1 John 4:8) He is also just and merciful. “The Rock, perfect is his activity, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness, with whom there is no injustice; righteous and upright is he.”—Deuteronomy 32:4.

The severity of a disaster does not always relate to the power of the natural forces involved. The concentration of humans in the affected area is often of greater consequence. According to a report published by the World Bank, in more than 160 countries, over a quarter of the population live in areas of high mortality risk from natural disasters. “As you put more and more people in [harm’s] way, you make a disaster out of something that before was just a natural event,” says scientist Klaus Jacob of Columbia University in the United States.

Other exacerbating factors are rapid, unplanned urbanization, deforestation, and the extensive use of concrete to cover ground that would normally absorb runoff. Particularly the latter two can cause destructive mud slides and excessive flooding.

The human factor can also turn an earthquake into a major disaster, for it is not the shock wave of energy that causes most deaths and injuries but collapsing buildings. For good reason seismologists have the saying: “Earthquakes don’t kill people. Buildings kill people.”

Political incompetence can add to the death toll. In one South American land, earthquakes have demolished the capital city three times in the past 400 years. And since the last quake, which took place in 1967, the population has doubled to five million. “But building codes that could protect the population are either lacking or not enforced,” says New Scientist magazine.

“You must not put Jehovah your God to the test,” says Deuteronomy 6:16. True Christians do not have a superstitious outlook on life, thinking that God will always protect them from physical harm. Hence, when danger threatens, they heed the inspired advice: “Shrewd is the one that has seen the calamity and proceeds to conceal himself, but the inexperienced have passed along and must suffer the penalty.”—Proverbs 22:3.

“Be in subjection to the superior authorities.” (Romans 13:1) When an official order is given to evacuate or to follow some other safety procedure, it is wise to take heed. Tadashi stayed away from the danger zone in obedience to an evacuation order and thus avoided injury or death from aftershocks.

When there are no official warnings of a threatening disaster, people have to decide personally when and how to respond, taking into account all the available facts. In some areas local governments may provide helpful guidelines on disaster survival. If such information is available in your area, are you familiar with it? And have you discussed it with your family? (See the accompanying box in watchtower article.) In many parts of the world, under the direction of the local branch office of Jehovah’s Witnesses, congregations of Witnesses have in place emergency procedures to follow should a disaster threaten or occur, and these procedures have proved to be extremely helpful.

EARTHQUAKES, wars, famines, and disease—these are some of the things that Jesus foretold would mark “the conclusion of the system of things” in which we now live. (Matthew 24:3, 7, 8; Luke 21:7, 10, 11) Of course, those events are not acts of God. Neither Jesus nor his Father, Jehovah God, is responsible for them.

But God will be responsible for what the foretold events presage, namely, the coming of God’s Kingdom—a heavenly government in the hands of Jesus Christ—and the destruction of all who reject Jehovah’s sovereignty. (Daniel 2:44; 7:13, 14) Thereafter, earth will be made into a haven of peace, where there will be no fear of natural disasters. In a complete sense, God’s promise will be fulfilled: “My people must dwell in a peaceful abiding place and in residences of full confidence and in undisturbed resting-places.”—Isaiah 32:18.

“As for the one listening to me,” God promises, “he will reside in security and be undisturbed from dread of calamity.”—Proverbs 1:33.

Jehovah’s Witnesses strive to listen to God by reading his inspired Word regularly and applying its teachings. They invite you to do the same. Yes, all who obediently listen to Jehovah have no need to dread the future and the calamity that will befall the wicked. Instead, they can look forward to gaining everlasting life in Paradise on earth, where they will “find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace.”—Psalm 37:10, 11. _ www.watchtower.org

The Toucan’s Beak

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A poor flier, the toucan of Central and South America moves about primarily by hopping. The sound produced by some species is similar to that of a frog, but it is louder. In fact, it can be heard up to half a mile away in the jungle. Perhaps what amazes scientists most about the toucan, though, is its beak.

Consider: The beak on some toucans is over a third of the bird’s length. It looks heavy, but it is not. “The surface is made of keratin, the same material in fingernails and hair,” explains materials scientist Marc André Meyers. “It’s actually many layers of tiny hexagonal plates, overlapping like shingles on a roof.”

The consistency of the toucan’s beak has been compared to that of a hard sponge. Some parts of it are hollow, while other parts are made up of beams and membranes. The result is a lightweight beak that has astounding strength. “It’s almost as if the toucan has a deep knowledge of mechanical engineering,” says Meyers.

The construction of the toucan’s beak enables the bird to absorb high impacts. Scientists believe that the beak can serve as a model for engineers in the aviation and automotive industries.

What do you think? Did the toucan’s strong but lightweight beak come about by chance? Or was it designed?

Appeared in Awake!  January 2009

Are We Running Out of Water?

Water has been called liquid gold, the oil of the 21st century. Yet, nations are squandering the precious commodity to such a degree that their principal rivers have hardly anything left to pour into the sea. As irrigation and evaporation take their toll, prominent rivers are drying up, including the Colorado River in the western United States, the Yangtze in China, the Indus in Pakistan, the Ganges in India, and the Nile in Egypt. 

 

In Search of the Water of Life

 

OVER two thousand years ago, a thriving city of 30,000 people grew to prominence in the Arabian Desert. Despite the area’s unforgiving climate, where average rainfall measures only six inches [150 mm] a year, the citizens of Petra learned to cope with little water. And Petra grew rich and prosperous.

 

The Nabataean inhabitants of Petra had no electrical water pumps. They did not build massive dams. But they did know how to harvest   their water. A huge network of small reservoirs, dikes, channels, and cisterns enabled them to funnel the carefully hoarded water into their city and onto their small plots of land. Hardly a drop was wasted. Their wells and cisterns were so well built that modern-day Bedouin still use them.

 

Already lessons learned from the Nabateans are helping farmers in the drought-plagued Sahel states of Africa. Modern methods of water conservation, however, can be just as effective. On Lanzarote, one of the Canary Islands, which lie off the coast of Africa, farmers have learned how to grow grapes and figs where rainfall is practically nonexistent. They plant the vines or fig trees at the bottom of rounded hollows and then cover the soil with a layer of volcanic ash to prevent evaporation. Sufficient dew can then trickle down to the roots to ensure a good crop.In her book Water Wars—Drought, Flood, Folly, and the Politics of Thirst,  Ward notes that 40 percent of the world’s population “carry their water from wells, rivers, ponds, or puddles outside of their homes.” In some countries, women may spend up to six hours fetching water for their families, lugging it home in containers that, when full, weigh more than 40 pounds.

 

What Is Needed for Solution

 

The fact is that over a third of the world’s population is seriously affected by a water and sanitation crisis. The problem is particularly severe in Africa, where 6 out of 10 people do not even have a proper toilet—a factor that, according to a World Health Organization report, contributes to “the transfer of bacteria, viruses and parasites found in human excreta which . . . contaminate water resources, soil and food.” Such contamination, the report notes, “is a major cause of diarrhoea, the second biggest killer of children in developing countries, and leads to other major diseases such as cholera, schistosomiasis, and trachoma.”

 

A Superior Kind of Water

 

On more than one occasion, God provided his people with a solution to an actual water shortage. He miraculously supplied water for the huge crowd of Israelite refugees who crossed the Sinai desert on their way to the Promised Land. (Exodus 17:1-6; Numbers 20:2-11) Elisha, a prophet of God, cleansed the well of Jericho that had become contaminated. (2 Kings 2:19-22) And when a remnant of repentant Israelites returned from Babylon to their homeland, God led them to ‘water in the wilderness.’—Isaiah 43:14, 19-21.

  

An inexhaustible supply of water is what our planet urgently needs today. Since our Creator, Jehovah God, provided a solution to water problems in the past, will he not do so again in the future? The Bible assures us that he will. Describing conditions under his promised Kingdom, God says: “Upon bare hills I shall open up rivers, and in the midst of the valley plains, springs. I shall make the wilderness into a reedy pool of water, and the waterless land into sources of water, . . . in order that people may see and know and pay heed and have insight at the same time, that the very hand of Jehovah has done this.”—Isaiah 41:18, 20.

 

The Bible promises us that when that time comes, people “will not go hungry, neither will they go thirsty.” (Isaiah 49:10) Thanks to a new global administration, there will be a definitive solution to the water crisis. This administration—the Kingdom, for which Jesus taught us to pray—will operate “by means of justice and by means of righteousness, from now on and to time indefinite.” (Isaiah 9:6, 7; Matthew 6:9, 10) As a result, people everywhere on earth will finally become a true international community.—Psalm 72:5, 7, 8.

 

If we search now for the water of life, we can look forward to seeing the day when there will truly be enough water for everyone.   — Awake! 01 6/22 pp. 12-13 In Search of the Water of Life

 

 

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What Is God’s Kingdom?

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To what was Jesus referring when he told us to pray: Let your kingdom come ?

At the beginning of this model prayer, Jesus instructed his hearers: “You must pray, then, this way: ‘Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified. Let your kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth.’” (Matthew 6:9-13)

God’s Kingdom is a government established by Jehovah God with a King chosen by God. Who is the King of God’s Kingdom? Jesus Christ. Jesus as King is greater than all human rulers and is called “the King of those who rule as kings and Lord of those who rule as lords.” (1 Timothy 6:15) He has the power to do far more good than any human ruler, even the best among them.

From where will God’s Kingdom rule? Well, where is Jesus? You will remember learning that he was put to death on a torture stake, and then he was resurrected. Shortly thereafter, he ascended to heaven. (Acts 2:33) Hence, that is where God’s Kingdom is—in heaven. That is why the Bible calls it a “heavenly kingdom.” (2 Timothy 4:18) Although God’s Kingdom is in heaven, it will rule over the earth.—Revelation 11:15.

WHAT WILL GOD’S KINGDOM DO?

For more informations about God’s kindom : Watchtower Official Web Site 

What does the Lord’s prayer mean to you?

‘You Must Pray This Way’

DO YOU know the words of the Lord’s Prayer? It is a model prayer taught by Jesus Christ. During his renowned Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: “You must pray, then, this way.” (Matthew 6:9)

Since it was introduced by Jesus, it is often called the Lord’s Prayer, also known as the Our Father prayer.—Latin, Paternoster.

Millions around the world have committed the Lord’s Prayer to memory and repeat it often, perhaps daily. In recent years, many have recited this prayer in schools and at public events. Why is the Lord’s Prayer so highly esteemed?

In its catechism, the Roman Catholic Church deems the Our Father to be “the fundamental Christian prayer.” The World Book Encyclopedia acknowledges this prayer’s important place in all religions of Christendom, calling it one of the “basic statements of Christian faith.”

It must be acknowledged, however, that many who recite the Lord’s Prayer do not fully understand it. “If you have any kind of Christian background you probably are able to rattle off the Lord’s Prayer without having to pause for breath,” says Canada’s Ottawa Citizen newspaper, “but you might have difficulty saying it slowly and with understanding.”

Is it really important to understand our prayers to God? Why did Jesus give us the Lord’s Prayer? What does it mean for you? See full text  Watchtower Official Web Site

Is it really important to understand our prayers to God? Why did Jesus give us the Lord’s Prayer? What does it mean for you?

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‘Your Will Be Done On Earth’, When?

Rural Cambodian Family maimed by a land mine.

Even after a conflict ends, mines and explosive remnants of war such as unexploded bombs, shells and cluster-munition bomblets continue to kill and maim. This deadly problem has a name: weapon contamination. It deprives entire populations of water, firewood, farmland, health care and education. — ICRC .  God’s will?

Is God’s Will Being Done?

“Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth.”—Matthew 6:10.

The view that whatever happens, good or bad, manifests God’s will is often based on Jesus’ words in what is called the Lord’s Prayer, quoted above. God’s will is being done in heaven, is it not? In praying ‘Let your will be done on earth,’ do we not acquiesce to what happens on earth as being God’s will?

Many are uncomfortable with this view. For them, it portrays God as insensitive to the feelings of his human creation. ‘How could a loving God want what is horrific for innocent people?’ they ask. ‘If there is a lesson to be learned, what could the lesson possibly be?’ Perhaps that is how you feel.

In this regard, Jesus’ half brother, the disciple James, wrote: “When under trial, let no one say: ‘I am being tried by God.’ For with evil things God cannot be tried nor does he himself try anyone.” (James 1:13) God is not the source of what is bad. Plainly, therefore, not all that happens on earth today is God’s will. The Scriptures speak also of man’s will, the nations’ will, and even the Devil’s will. (John 1:13; 2 Timothy 2:26; 1 Peter 4:3)

Do you agree that what happened to the cambodian family could not have been the will of a loving heavenly Father?—Text source Watchtower

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What Will The Future Bring?

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A Brighter Tomorrow?

The future is a subject of intense fascination. Who of us would not like to know what we will be doing next month, next year, or even a decade from now? On a broader scale, what kind of world will this be in 10, 20, or 30 years?

DO YOU have an optimistic view of the future? Millions of people do, and these may be divided into two groups: those who say they have solid grounds for their belief that things will get better and those who maintain a bright outlook simply because the alternatives are too bleak to consider. How do you envision the future? Do you foresee gloom and doom or peace and security? If you expect the latter, on what is your hope based—wishful thinking or firm evidence? Unlike the doomsayers, the publishers of Awake! do not believe that mankind is headed for extinction. On the contrary, the Bible provides solid reason to believe that the best of times are ahead.—See the whole Awake! article.

Mankind’s Problems Will They Ever End?

"ONE quarter of the world’s population live in poverty, 1.3 billion survive on less than $1 a day, 1 billion are illiterate, 1.3 billion lack access to safe drinking water and 1 billion go hungry daily." So notes a report from Ireland about the state of the world. WHAT a sad indictment of man’s inability to find lasting solutions to the world’s problems! Those problems seem even more tragic when you realize that the overwhelming majority of people described in that report are defenseless women and children. Is it not appalling that even now, in the 21st century, their rights continue to be "violated every day in numbers of such magnitude as to defy counting"?—The State of the World’s Children 2000.

Mankind’s Problems Soon to End!

DESPITE great humanitarian action, mankind’s problems grow inexorably. What chance is there of a lasting political solution? In truth, very little. But where else can we look? In a meaningful passage at the beginning of his letter to Christians in Ephesus, the apostle Paul explains how God will put an end to all of mankind’s problems. He even indicates what agency God will use to do this—an agency that will address the root causes of all the problems that plague us today. Why not consider what Paul has to say? — Ephesians 1:3-10. — See whole Watchtower article. Photo Credit: jasonrphotography

How Can I Cope When Tragedy Strikes?

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Young People Ask . . .

“Why did the terrorists have to kill my mom?”— Kevin.* “[Before September 11], I used to love tunnels. Now I imagine dying in a tunnel because of its being blown up.”— Peter.

KEVIN’S mother was killed in the September 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center in New York City. Peter did not suffer a similar terrible loss, but he was still greatly affected by the events.One news report says: “Thousands of children living in New York are struggling with mental problems related to [the attacks on] September 11 that in many cases will last into adulthood.” Alarmingly, signs of emotional trauma were “just as prevalent in children who were nowhere near ground zero as in those who had witnessed the attacks first hand.”#The same might be said regarding other tragedies, such as suicide bombings in Israel and random shootings elsewhere. Regarding such shootings one expert on the effects of trauma said: “Even if [the children] live 2,000 miles away, these events can still increase [their] anxiety.”The reason? When disastrous events take place, young ones are exposed to a flood of graphic media coverage. Frightening images of terrorist bombings, school shootings, and natural disasters are repeated over and over again, making it difficult for many youths to erase the pictures from their minds. Little wonder that a survey conducted for the New York City Board of Education revealed: “Six months after the World Trade Center collapse, 76 percent of 8,266 public school students still thought frequently about the terrorist attacks.” We live in what the Bible calls “terrible times.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5, New International Version) How can you cope when terrifying tragedies occur?%   See the whole Awake! article.

* Some of the names have been changed. # According to mental-health experts, such symptoms might include emotional numbness, nightmares, isolation, cessation of normal activities, and feelings of guilt and anger. % Although this article is specifically dealing with large-scale tragedies, the counsel can also be applied to personal tragedies, such as the loss of a loved one.Photo Credit: shawnzlea