Isaiah 30

In this chapter, God declares what will happen to those who don’t listen to Him: He will wound them. Sometimes He does that by simply turning us over to the sinful things we have chosen—as in the case of Israel choosing to trust in their “speedy horses” (vs 16) instead of trusting in God. And I believe that, sometimes, He also wounds us Himself. If we are taking a path that will ultimately lead us away from Him, He makes it very hard for us to continue on that path, in order to give us time to change our minds and turn around.

But Isaiah says that this isn’t the way God would prefer to treat us: “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them… He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful… The moon will shine like the sun, and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the Lord binds up the bruises of His people and heals the wounds he inflicted.” (vs 18-20, 23, 26)

God longs to be gracious and compassionate to us. And that includes feeding us the bread of adversity and the water of affliction if we are determined to take a dangerous path. As Solomon wrote in Proverbs 27:6, “Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies many kisses.” God is a friend whose wounds can be trusted. He is a friend whose bruises we can endure—and even delight in!—as we discover how they work according to His purpose for our best good.

Photo © Unsplash/National Cancer Institute

We don’t often like to think of God as inflicting “pain.” In fact, I have a lot of friends who would say that this is somehow a misdirected description of God since Jesus never wounded anyone.

Or did He?

Jesus certainly never struck anyone in anger, but He did drive the money changers out of the temple. He did speak seemingly harsh words to the Pharisees and religious leaders—calling them snakes, liars, and dead men. He even told a story which depicted the High Priest of Israel in hell! Jesus may not have hit with His fists, but He certainly hit the Israelite leaders where it hurt—by challenging their preconceived ideas about the Messiah, their abuse of the sanctuary system, and their very authority.

If only they had responded to these wounds! If only they had admitted what they knew in their hearts—that Jesus was right and they were wrong. But though their pride was wounded, they would not submit. They would not allow God to heal the wounds He had inflicted. They would not suffer themselves to bow the knee and receive God’s grace and compassion. They were determined to keep their power and authority at all costs.

When it is necessary for your good, God will wound you. He won’t leave you on the path toward destruction, multiplying kisses and looking the other way. No, He will bruise, He will wound, He will strike. And when we stop long enough to say, “Hey! Ouch!”, He will swoop in with His grace, His compassion, and His blessings, binding up every bruise He has caused and healing every wound He has inflicted.

You see, when you have chosen the wrong path, any enemy can whisper sweet words in your ear and plant kisses on your cheeks.

But a true Friend will wound.