My First Post about God's Love and Punishment

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I am here to report God is real, God is strong, and God is all around us. The other day I was carrying a plate of food over to the table to eat and watch television (a nightly ritual). As I was walking I dropped the plate of food, and SCREAMED an obscenity whilst taking our heavenly fathers name in vain. As soon as I did this, I bent over to clean up the mess. As I was bent over I felt something hit my caboose. A lamp had fallen off my table and hit me right on my rear-end. This was clearly God’s way of telling me that this is no way to behave or talk. He was punishing me for my wicked speech. I must say I was at first embarrassed, as many disobedient children are, but then felt bad I had hurt God’s feelings. So I then decided that I would take twenty minutes out of my TV time for prayer, and ask God to forgive me. I can happily report that he forgave me, which was only due to his mighty love and mercy. God is good! Many blessings to all! Let god’s blood drip over all of us, and feed our thirst for his love! Respond with other blessed stories of our of fathers affection, and his steady hand of discipline!
 
I think this is in the wrong section. It should be in the God-works-in-very-mysterious-ways section.
 
What separates God’s punishment and utter nonstop misery that some people have to endure?
 
Sometimes we need a correction. Did the lamp hurt a lot?
 
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I will say this - guardian angels will cover their holy ears -
they even - will depart from you -
They don’t have time for that.

Never mind their eyes…
 
Are you related to Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam or is your name referring to the vedder sands of the San Joaquin Valley?

Inquiring minds wanna know
 
Many suffering souls have gone before us, and so I say look to their examples if you want to know more about that.
 
Kei said:
Many suffering souls have gone before us, and so I say look to their examples if you want to know more about that.
Click to expand...
That’s not my question. The OP told a story of how a lamp fell on his backside after taking the Lord’s name in vain (I.e. committing a sin led directly to God giving a slight punishment to him). How does one determine if something bad that happens is caused as a result of sin or just happens naturally?
 
Ah, I see.

Well, naturally, that which occurs is at least allowed to occur passively in ordinary understanding of Divine Providence, as all of existence occurs only due to God’s creative and sustaining power.
In this sense, natural punishment can be seen to be punishment from God.
But the question more specifically asks about whether it’s a “natural” punishment vs direct. In short, the question is about how to tell if something is “just a coincidence” vs “punishment from God”.
Well, obviously if the punishment was not possible via natural means then it would be a clear sign of Divine punishment. So, for instance, though the example provided by the OP seems incredulous and funny, let’s suppose the lamp was across the room and then, somehow, was lifted up and transported to the top of him and then fell on him. That would be a clear sign of some sort of at least præternatural intervention that should be taken up with the local Church authorities.
But, say it’s not like that. Say the lamp was above him already and could fall at any second.
In this case, it is best to consider that one could very well think of it as chance, and be very reasonable in doing so.

To go deeper would have a look at the nature of chance (indeed considering the universality of Divine Providence) and the nature of Grace (ie, this still brought the OP to repentance regardless of how it sounds), which sounds like too much to do here (at least for me)
 
So ruling out an event that simply could not have occurred naturally, a miracle, there is no way to differentiate between divine retribution/intervention and happenstance.

You mentioned coincidence and that brings us to the flip side of divine punishment, which is when God does something good for someone. In hearing numerous Christian testimonies it seems some believers feel that there is no such thing as coincidence. It can range from something as mundane as praying to find lost car keys then finding them 10 minutes later, to being in the doldrums and a long lost friend happening to call in. It would seem there is no way to differentiate whether this kind of event does or does not involve God’s intercession.
 
Personally, I think since every single moment is brought forth by God, I don’t understand coincidence or how coincidence is, except in a merely passive Will as opposed to active.

God in a sense does cause everything, so in that sense there is no mere coincidence, but in another, taking the natural course of events into account, I would say the understanding of mere happenstance vs Divine Interaction is mislead. Rather, God can use even mere happenstance, or at least what appears as such, to bring about Good. This in turn brings about whether, then, it was merely happenstance into question.

If it brings about Good, then that is the first tip off if it is a merely natural thing.
Typically, we tend to say it is coincidence if it is not especially demonstrative of being Divine Action. God works in our day to day life, of course, so I find it difficult to say, “It is only coincidence”. At the same time, I find it very difficult to say, “It is Divine action at work (unless it’s pretty obvious)”.
 
I have been away from the forum for a while, but I would like to clarify that it takes discernment. God’s Providence is over all of Creation, and He can use natural means very easily, and oftentimes if one looks back on the past they can see the happy Hand of Providence in their lives at some point, which can involve many ordinary things. It is best to wait a while and then look back in discernment.
 
Would it be fair to say that followers of Gods that you and I do not believe are true will sometimes claim divine providence for something that is merely coincidence? Would it be fair to say that for the same event two knowledgeable believers may differ whether that event is providence or coincidence?
 
I am not sure if two believers in classical monotheism can believe in different Gods, but to answer your question, two people may disagree. However, at least one will be wrong. It should be noted that God provides for every instance, so it is really a question as to whether it was something Willed or something merely allowed to be.
 
Psalm 119: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet.” (or other such parts) 🤔
 
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