Chapter 17

BAD STUFF HAPPENS. I say this at the start to remind you, dear reader, that things happen in this world that are far less than ideal.

And a lot of these things happen just “because”.

I’m saying this because I don’t want you getting the idea that I think all suffering is the result of God giving us a whoopin’ because we’ve done something wrong. Quite plainly, that’s not the case.

But God does want us perfected, and sometimes part of the process of perfecting us involves disciplinary action against us.

As a Chemistry teacher myself, I find verse 3 very relatable – as silver in the crucible and gold in the pan! In the same way God is testing us (probably more for our benefit than his) as we approach perfection.

Of course, the writer of Proverbs knows that this is not the cause of all suffering – witness verse 10! But it is certainly something that should be considered.

When we suffer, the question “Why” is a natural one. But it is important for us to ask ourselves if maybe, just maybe, God might be trying to teach us something when life hasn’t gone the way that we expected it to.