Nehemiah 9:30-31
"Yet for many years You had patience with them, and testified against them by Your Spirit in Your prophets, yet they would not listen; therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands. Nevertheless in Your great mercy You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them; for You are God, gracious and merciful."
Contrary to some people's impression of "fire and brimstone" preaching, conviction of sin is not related to God's wrath but stems from his mercies. When the Spirit testifies against our sins, God does so in hopes that we will confess our sins and turn instead to God's mercies.
For centuries, God gave Israel the opportunity to turn from idol worship, sending his prophets as led by the Spirit. But the nation refused to listen. In stubbornness, even the people of God close their hearts to the Spirit's testimony.
In the end, God Israel over to the consequences of their sins, sending them into exile until they turned back to his mercies. This shows us that God will not leave alone those who belong to his family, even if he must cause us to suffer in order to cause our return. Still, this is a picture of the Lord's gracious and merciful heart towards his people.
I suspect that much of our own sorrows may be tied directly to our sins. When we reject of the Spirit's testimony, God simply acts to get our attention. Where we see troubles and travails as being unfair, or the result of someone else's evil heart, or simply an act of nature, many of these follow our rebellious hearts. God allows trials to turn us to his mercies.
While I'm not one to claim every trouble is of our own doing in some fashion or another, I do believe the promise of God's word that he chastens those he loves. After all, our Lord wants us to come to his great mercies.
LORD JESUS
Lord, I thank you for the testimony of your Spirit. May my heart not be rebellious to your witness. And may I turn back to you at every opportunity instead of testing your resolve to love me. Amen.
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