Does God punish people through circumstances?

[contramundum7]

Whenver bad things happen to me, my first thought/feeling is that God is punishing some sin or another… from the past (since i am no longer a sinner… . Just kidding, but i really don’t have any serious sins to contend with at this time…@ least none I am consciously aware of ).

Anyway, i really believe that God allows us 2 go through sufferings (usually the result of sin ) in order to get our attention, so as to get us headed in the right direction…

When bad things happen, people have a tendency to cry out to God. I believe this is mostly what God wants… Sometimes we are too busy to talk to him… so when bad things happen, well, we are forced to talk to him (cry out to him)… and that’s what he wants… even if we talk to him in an angry tone of voice (which i often do, have to admit )…
I don’t think he ever tells us (as parents do): “Don’t you use that tone of voice with ME!!” He is big enough to take our anger, whereas people - parents included - are not…
Anyway, just wondering about others’ thoughts and feelings on the subject… (would like to hear personal testimonies…). Thanks.

 

[puzzleannie]

Whenver bad things happen to me, my first thought/feeling is that God is punishing some sin or another… from the past (since i am no longer a sinner… . Just kidding, but i really don’t have any serious sins to contend with at this time…@ least none I am consciously aware of ).

.

no I don’t think God punishes us through circumstances, I think we make our own punishments, which 9 times out of 10 are a natural consequence of our actions (sinful or just plain stupid), which is why God forbade those actions in the first place. Or the punishment is inflicted on innocent third parties by the sinful (or stupid) actions of others. For instance, knowledgeable sources have warned for years that New Orleans was a disaster waiting to happen, and a major hurricane could result in massive flooding. duh.

 

[water]

God uses different ways to bring us closer to Him.

Yes, sometimes He knocks our head with a lighting bolt to wake us up, to get us out of our sinful living way.

Bad things, as we might call it, are not always the results of sins. Remember the story of Job in the Bible. He was a very holy man but looked what happened to him? He lost everything.

Many Saints whom we know were suffering of many things - physical as well as spiritual, but that was how God wanted the Saints’ suffering to unite with His. Saint Francis, for instance, got stigmata. It surely hurt- was it because St. Francis did something terrible to deserve it? No.

If one can know fully the benefit and purpose of suffering and has the courage to carry it, many graces would be poured on his/her soul and those of others. I’ve learned that St. Faustina offered up her pains for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

 

[ltbpoe43]

I don’t believe that when bad things happen we are being punished at all. That’s just contrary to God’s love for all his children.

Indeed, quite the opposite, when bad things happen, that’s when God is strongest in our hearts to help us through the pain and darkness. If only we let him in to help the healing through prayer and the consolation of family and friends.

When your child is sick with cancer (as our son is being treated for now), that is not God’s wrath of punishment. Prior to his illness we were active in our faith (attending mass, choir, cantor, altar servers, lector, etc.) and still are to the degree we can. As we continue to recover and heal, we are just so much closer to God’s healing compassion through prayers and novenas and searching. He is always with us at our side, and was even more so with us lifting us up through those dark days and months. We never felt abandoned but comforted. I just can’t imagine the experience otherwise.