Sometimes God uses deprivation and loss to get His people’s attention. The good blessings that He provides day by day He can easily withdraw. In Deuteronomy 28.1-14 God spelled out in everyday detail the many ways that He would bless His people in the land of promise. And then, just as quickly, He told them that He would take all these everyday blessings away if they disobeyed His Law.

All the material blessings of our lives come from the Lord. The earth is His, and everything in it (Ps. 24.1). He grants us blessings out of His steadfast love and faithfulness. If we prove not to be good stewards of His gifts, or if we use them in ways contrary to His purposes in giving them, He can simply take them away – homes, jobs, possessions, wealth, whatever we have or cherish.

Deprivation may also include depriving us of our peace. When we become confused, frustrated, disappointed, or disillusioned, we lose something very important to us – our shalom. To be deprived of that sense of wellbeing in our souls can be just as painful as any material or temporal loss.

At such times we need to give thanks, and then seek to discover whether this discipline comes as a test – to strengthen our faith – or a trial – to judge and correct us. Only by turning to the Lord and waiting on Him can we discern His reasons and purposes for deprivation or any of His passive disciplines. And only by this means will we be able to realize the good He intends for us.

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