The Blessings of God

Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Can reeds flourish where there is no water? While yet in flower and not cut down, they wither before any other plant. Such are the paths of all who forget God; the hope of the godless shall perish.
Job 8:11-13
+
The Blessings of God
Bildad asks these questions concerning the viability of papyrus reeds.  Can they survive if there is no water?  The answer of course is that no they cannot.  Bildad’s point is that those who are suffering are doing so because God has removed His blessings form them.  They are like reeds without water and will soon wither away.  Of course, this is true that without God’s blessings and divine providence we are lost and cannot survive.  Yet to see suffering as an abandonment by God is to not understand God.  The “hope of the godless shall perish” is indeed true, yet even the righteous suffer as the wicked prosper.  We confess in the explanation to the Fourth Petition, “God gives daily bread, even without our prayer, to all wicked people.” So suffering or the lack thereof is not necessarily an indication of God’s blessings or wrath.  So as always, we look to Christ.  And it is in Him that we have our assurance that even when suffering comes upon us, He never abandons us. “I will not leave you or forsake you” (Joshua 1:5). Christ was obedient to our Father, even to the point of death on a cross, so that God’s cup of wrath would not be poured out upon us for our sins. Instead, it was on that very cross where our sins were paid for, so now the faithful who have been washed clean in the blood of the Lamb need not fear, for the suffering of this age is but a second compared to the eternity of God’s blessings Christ has won for us.