Isaiah 38

❇️ Hezekiah after his illness wrote:
Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish ………..You have put
all my sins behind your back (v17)

❇️ Hezekiah’s words show us a rare paradigm in suffering. He shows that though suffering is painful yet it can be redemptive by making a person realize his sinfulness and repent.

❇️ Suffering is normally considered as loss whereas Hezekiah says his suffering was for his benefit.

When does suffering become beneficial❓

❇️ Suffering can make us either better or bitter. It becomes beneficial if we become better people when we increase in attitudes like humility, tolerance, patience, fortitude and repetent etc through our suffering.That’s when suffering leads to sanctification and become redemptive .

❇️ Hezekiah must have had that experience during his illness which made him a better person.

❇️ How do we respond to our sufferings? By and large we blame situations and others like God and even virus for our suffering.We turn bitter and refuse to accept our part that caused our suffering.

❇️ God allows suffering in our life to
▪️correct us
▪️teach us
▪️sanctify us
▪️make us better & stronger
▪️depend more on him etc.

❇️ Hezekiah also says, “You have put all my sins behind your back.” When we repent, God forgives, puts all our sins behind his back and remembers our sins no more (Is.43:25). What a generous package our God offers when we repent !!!

Why does God do that❓

❇️ It is because God’s love is
▪️perfect
▪️unconditional
▪️unfailing

❇️ God puts all our sins at his back because his eyes are too pure to look on evil (Hab.1:13). God being loving and holy works to our benefit in our suffering if only we repent.

✅ Insights learnt:

▪️Suffering is redemptive too
▪️God puts our sins behind his
back
▪️God doesn’t remember our
sins after he forgives
▪️God’s love is perfect &
unfailing
▪️Accept and change our part that caused
suffering

Dr.E.Christadoss
Vellore 🙏🏽