Will God Be Cruel?

[wumpiesmommy]

I want to serve God out of love and not fear but I was raised to be terrified of Him and despite my best efforts I often feel there’s no good in me because something really traumatic happened to me lately and I wonder if God’s punishing me brutally for my sins, though I thought I was doing everything right. Now I feel like a slave to God where once I was a slave to the devil. Will God torture me to make me obedient? Does He want me to be His slave? I need a reality check here.
I should mention I completely trusted Him not to let that thing happen, so I’m afraid that if I’m not perfect in every way something else tragic will happen.
Clarity?

 

[josh987654321]

I want to serve God out of love and not fear but I was raised to be terrified of Him and despite my best efforts I often feel there’s no good in me because something really traumatic happened to me lately and I wonder if God’s punishing me brutally for my sins, though I thought I was doing everything right. Now I feel like a slave to God where once I was a slave to the devil. Will God torture me to make me obedient? Does He want me to be His slave? I need a reality check here.
I should mention I completely trusted Him not to let that thing happen, so I’m afraid that if I’m not perfect in every way something else tragic will happen.
Clarity?

John 9:1-3:

9 As Jesus walked along, he saw a man who had been blind since birth. 2 Jesus’ disciples asked, “Teacher, why was this man born blind? Was it because he or his parents sinned?”

3** “No, it wasn’t!” Jesus answered. “But because of his blindness, you will see God work a miracle for him.**

Matthew 16:21-23:

Jesus Speaks about His Suffering and Death

21 From then on, Jesus began telling his disciples what would happen to him. He said, “I must go to Jerusalem. There the nation’s leaders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law of Moses will make me suffer terribly. I will be killed, but three days later I will rise to life.”

22 Peter took Jesus aside and told him to stop talking like that. He said, “God would never let this happen to you, Lord!”

23 Jesus turned to Peter and said, **“Satan, get away from me! You’re in my way because you think like everyone else and not like God.” **

It is Satan in the book of Job that tells God that the only reason Job loves him is because he avoids the Cross, Satan say’s* “Wait until he is faced with the Cross and he will curse you to your face.”*

C.S. Lewis also writes a good piece in his book ‘Screwtape Letters’ where the senior devil, Screwtape, writes to his junior tempter, Wormwood, about how to lead a human astray.

Do not be deceived, Wormwood. Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy’s will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys. - Screwtape

On the cross we make reparations for our own sins and those of all mankind, we share in Christ’s redemptive sacrifice, and in his Glory. The Devil can be easily defeated through the experience of the cross, the cross is the last attempt of the Devil at winning us over, he is powerless against those who embrace the Cross with those same sentiments of Christ.

I would also like to share with you some short booklets on Jesus’ Passion which have helped me greatly.

Books on the Passion
The Stations of The Cross - loveandmercy.org/Eng-SOC-Reg.pdf
The Passion - loveandmercy.org/Eng-TP-Reg.pdf

They both contain the Roman Catholic IMPRIMATUR, which assures the reader that nothing therein is contrary to Catholic Faith, Morals or Teaching. (For more information regarding these short booklets please read this - youshallbelieve.com/A-plea-to-humanity.pdf and for more of these booklets please go here - youshallbelieve.com/store/)

Please do not forget, Jesus loves you very much and he is not indifferent to your sufferings, nor is he trying to punish you, however through them, united to the Cross of Christ, you can profit from them and draw closer to Him and His love.

“Oh, if only the suffering soul knew how much God loves it, it would die of joy and excess of happiness!” – St. Faustina

I would also like to link you to a previous post of mine on pain and suffering with some more quotes that I believe will help you.

Post 1
Post 2
Post 3

Please continue to next post -

 

[josh987654321]

Continued from above post -

And I would also like to share an extract with you out of the above booklets quoted.
Jesus to Catalina:

The Passion - loveandmercy.org/Eng-TP-Reg.pdf
**
6) On the other hand, there are souls, and not few, who, moved by their desire for salvation but above all, by the love inspired in them by the vision of what I have suffered for them, decide to follow Me on the path to Calvary. They embrace the perfect life and give themselves to My service, not to help Me carry just a part of the Cross but all of it. Their only desire is to give Me rest and to console Me. For that purpose, they volunteer for everything that My Will asks of them, searching for how they can please Me. They do not think about the merits or the reward that awaits them, or the tiredness or the suffering that will result for them. The only thing that they have in mind is the love that they can show Me, and the comfort they give Me…

1. If My Cross is presented as an illness, if it is hidden under a job contrary to their inclinations and of little agreement with their abilities, if it comes accompanied by the thoughtlessness of people surround them, they accept it with total submission.
2. Oh! These are the souls that truly carry My Cross; they adore it. They make use of it for obtaining My Glory with no interest or payment other than My love. They are the ones that consider Me and glorify Me.
3. If you do not see the result of your sufferings, of your self-denial, or if you see it later, be certain that they have not been in vain and fruitless but, on the contrary, the fruit will be abundant.
4. The soul who truly loves, does not keep count of how much it has suffered or labored, nor does it expect this or that reward, but it seeks only that which it believes glorifies its God… For Him it spares neither labors nor weariness. It does not become agitated or restless, far from it, for it does not lose its peace if it finds itself thwarted or humiliated, because the only motive for its actions is love, and love abandons the consequences and the results. Therein lies the purpose of souls who do not seek rewards. The only thing that they hope for is My Glory, My comfort, My rest, and, for that reason they have taken My Cross and all the weight that My Will desires to place upon them.
5. My children, call Me by My name, for Jesus means everything. I will wash your feet, those feet that have trodden a slippery path and are now wounded by the blows against the rocks. I will wipe away your tears, cure you, kiss you, and you will remain healthy and know no other path but the one that leads you to Me.
6. We are now at Calvary! The mob is excited because the dreadful moment is near… Exhausted by fatigue, I can hardly walk. My feet bleed because of the stones on the way… Three times I have fallen along the way: once to give sinners used to sinning the strength to convert; another to give encouragement to souls who fall because of being frail and to souls who are blinded by sadness and restlessness, encouraging them to rise and embark with courage upon the path of virtue; and the third time, to help souls depart from sin at the hour of their death. **

Jesus to Catalina:

The Great Crusade of Salvation - loveandmercy.org/Eng-CS-Reg.pdf

4) When the cross of suffering weighs heavy on you, remember that you are but pilgrims on this earth. Beyond the tomb, lies a wonderfully, more beautiful world, which God has prepared for His faithful children.

Jesus to Catalina:

The Passion - loveandmercy.org/Eng-TP-Reg.pdf

**"Contemplate My wounds and see if there is anyone who has suffered as much as I, to show their love…

"Contemplate Me in the image of the Christ who cries and bleeds. There and in this way the world has Me **

http://s15.postimg.org/s9fu5lkbv/Crucifixion.jpg

St Margaret-Mary Alacoque

"Behold this Heart which has loved men so much that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming itself in order to testify to them it’s love. In return I receive from the greater number nothing but ingratitude by reason of their irreverence and sacrileges and by the coldness and contempt which they show me in this sacrament of Love."

http://s30.postimg.org/3kdn56c0x/Christ_7.jpg

St. Faustina

"Come and confide in your God, who is love and mercy…My child, listen to the voice of your merciful Father" (Diary, 1486).

**“My mercy is greater than your sins and those of the entire world. Who can measure the extent of my goodness? For you I descended from heaven to earth; for you I allowed myself to be nailed to the cross; for you I let my Sacred Heart be pierced with a lance, thus opening wide the source of mercy for you. Come, then, with trust to draw graces from this fountain. I never reject a contrite heart. Your misery has disappeared in the depths of My mercy” **(Diary, 1485).

"My Heart overflows with great mercy for souls, and especially for poor sinners. If only they could understand that I am the best of Fathers to them and that it is for them that the Blood and Water flowed from My Heart as from a fount overflowing with mercy. For them I dwell in the tabernacle as King of Mercy. I desire to bestow My graces upon souls, but they do not want to accept them. You, at least, come to Me as often as possible and take these graces they do not want to accept. In this way you will console My Heart…" (Diary, 367).

http://s9.postimg.org/zfi92u8lr/Christ_9.jpg

I hope this has helped you.

God Bless.

Thank you for reading
Josh

 

[Domiy]

I want to serve God out of love and not fear but I was raised to be terrified of Him and despite my best efforts I often feel there’s no good in me because something really traumatic happened to me lately and I wonder if God’s punishing me brutally for my sins, though I thought I was doing everything right. Now I feel like a slave to God where once I was a slave to the devil. Will God torture me to make me obedient? Does He want me to be His slave? I need a reality check here.
I should mention I completely trusted Him not to let that thing happen, so I’m afraid that if I’m not perfect in every way something else tragic will happen.
Clarity?

Have faith my brother. Read into the Gospels and other related text, they are full of related experiences. The saints and our Christ Jesus who came before you suffered a lot as well, all with due reward and justification.

Is God punishing you? Not really. That’s what the afterlife is for. But our God loves us all so dearly that He will make every effort to warn us of the suffering that awaits us if we give into Satan’s lies. Look at every bit of suffering and hardship in your life as a message from God. He’s strengthening you for something better. He’s chosen you to carry a certain burden in your own way, because He knows you’re especially good at offering something through it, which will all be revealed in due time. In the words of the faithful: “better (to suffer) in this life than in the next”.

Give yourself to God, find strength and comfort in Him by regular confession, prayer and Eucharist, and ask Him for guidance. I’ve been through so much hardship in my life and I’m still young, I expect a lot more to come my way. But they all end up leaving a positive impact on me. They bring me closer to God and reveal new ways for me to trust in Him.

 

[Bob_Crowley]

I can see what the OP is getting at. I don’t know if God can be cruel, but He’s certainly not soft.

The “God of Love” designed the following butterfly (in one way or another) -

google.com.au/search?q=photograph+of+butterfly&tbm=isch&imgil=67XSbamouzkqSM%253A%253Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fencrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com%252Fimages%253Fq%253Dtbn%253AANd9GcT8N0HwcM-0GztDxbhdUaQfrYQ2BJdJt5klgpxVtMrSTiHVIkW_lw%253B1145%253B1600%253BHpCS5vZzMbFKtM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.rci.rutgers.edu%25252F~jbass%25252F495%25252Fdrafts%25252Fspr11%25252Ffrp.htm&source=iu&usg=__7icOxXzu0ckqLNc299dIET-zRm4%3D&sa=X&ei=3EWQU4bhNcOckAXDyoDACw&ved=0CDcQ9QEwBA&biw=1366&bih=589#facrc=&imgdii=&imgrc=alo0a-wUFcum7M%253A%3BNZGdseCYhiTPnM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fppcdn.500px.org%252F14966617%252F1ffb7fee0c6121cb459c74629f5e4cd85a10e09c%252F5.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252F500px.com%252Fphoto%252F14966617%252Fbeauty-of-butterfly-by-arun-mathur%3B869%3B581

He also designed the following endearing creature -

google.com.au/search?q=photograph+of+deep+sea+fish+with+big+teeth&tbm=isch&imgil=bTpdnwXPPWUJDM%253A%253Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fencrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com%252Fimages%253Fq%253Dtbn%253AANd9GcTY_Yrq4ufFyzkHcElGN20uy2XB0rPQIyyk5nxgaaeY2KvzOOh_%253B600%253B419%253BqpNk0Pr-18DifM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.greendiary.com%25252F5-scary-fish-planet.html&source=iu&usg=__MJTucxAkOjAl9C6DCobyddrHHiI%3D&sa=X&ei=ckaQU-v7GMTHkwWTnYDwCw&ved=0CDIQ9QEwBw&biw=1366&bih=589#facrc=&imgdii=&imgrc=uzrDvqUQxEAY1M%253A%3BndWOyfYOJZXBhM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fi.dailymail.co.uk%252Fi%252Fpix%252F2012%252F10%252F07%252Farticle-0-1563EADA000005DC-884_634x500.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%252Fsciencetech%252Farticle-2214188%252FMonsters-deep-revealed-Sealife-live-complete-darkness-shown-crystal-clear-images.html%3B634%3B500

Fortunately we don’t meet with these too often as they live in the deep sea. But when God created everything they were “good”.

There are two sides to God - Love and Judgement. All we want to hear about is the love. I think there’s enough evidence around in nature alone to make us ponder about judgement.

I suppose I’m a bit biased, but I had the peculiar experience of my own father turning up the night in my bedroom the night he died. At the end of the spoken exchange, he disappeared with one almighty scream. And I mean scream. Absolute terror.

Frankly I think the modern church soft pedals when it comes to reminding us about judgement.

 

[Bob_Crowley]

I want to serve God out of love and not fear but I was raised to be terrified of Him and despite my best efforts I often feel there’s no good in me because something really traumatic happened to me lately and I wonder if God’s punishing me brutally for my sins, though I thought I was doing everything right. Now I feel like a slave to God where once I was a slave to the devil. Will God torture me to make me obedient? Does He want me to be His slave? I need a reality check here.
I should mention I completely trusted Him not to let that thing happen, so I’m afraid that if I’m not perfect in every way something else tragic will happen.
Clarity?

After my discouraging post just above, i thought I’d better do a bit of soft pedalling myself.

Traumatic events happen to just about everybody sooner or later. Eleven of the twelve disciples were martyred if tradition is correct, and that’s what I would call a traumatic event.

But they weren’t being punished for their sins. They were being persecuted because they belonged to Christ.

Granted you will undergo suffering from time to time. We all do.

Now I’m probably the worst person to tell you this as I usually complain loud and clear (in true Australian underdog fashion) when I think I have been treated unjustly. But you can turn the suffering (read trauma) over to God and ask Him to add your suffering to that of Christ.

That’s what the Apostle Paul did.

In the meantime you might need to read a Christian or Catholic book or two on the issue of suffering. Maybe start with CS Lewis’ “The Problem of Pain”.

You’re not alone, and I don’t think God is specifically punishing you for your sins.

 

[Casilda]

https://sp2.yimg.com/ib/th?id=HN.608056249888476790&pid=15.1

The prodigal son was a slave to sin, he was suffering consequences, and came back to his father who welcomed him with open arms. Our Father doesnt cause our suffering, our suffering is the result of our sin, this fallen world we wander in and those under the influence of evil. Turning to Our Father should always be our answer. I pray you find solace in Father’s arms.

 

[Matthew_Light]

I want to serve God out of love and not fear but I was raised to be terrified of Him and despite my best efforts I often feel there’s no good in me because something really traumatic happened to me lately and I wonder if God’s punishing me brutally for my sins, though I thought I was doing everything right. Now I feel like a slave to God where once I was a slave to the devil. Will God torture me to make me obedient? Does He want me to be His slave? I need a reality check here.
I should mention I completely trusted Him not to let that thing happen, so I’m afraid that if I’m not perfect in every way something else tragic will happen.
Clarity?

God loves you no matter what.

You have some ideas about God that seem real to you, based on your experiences, but that is not who God is.

 

[wumpiesmommy]

You have all been so kind and reassuring that I’m in tears I’m so moved. I feel like reading your posts, all of them, Christ Himself has spoken to me through all of you. And He’s nothing like I thought.
Bob, I’m very concerned by what you posted. Do you mind telling me what religion your father was, or what denomination, and did he practice a Christian faith as devoutly as he could? Do you have any idea why he might be judged harshly?
I will pray for the repose of his soul, and for you. That must have been terrifying.
Perhaps he was just afraid to die when he saw God? Or perhaps he feared God so much that he mistakenly panicked when he saw God, thinking he’d go to hell but he didn’t? Satan is a master deceiver remember. Perhaps he had a hand in a miscommunication.

 

[josh987654321]

You have all been so kind and reassuring that I’m in tears I’m so moved. I feel like reading your posts, all of them, Christ Himself has spoken to me through all of you. And He’s nothing like I thought.

St Faustina -

"Mankind will not have peace until it turns with trust to My mercy. Oh, how much I am hurt by a soul’s distrust! Such a soul professes that I am Holy and Just, but does not believe that I am Mercy and does not trust in My Goodness. Even the devils glorify My Justice but do not believe in My Goodness" (Diary, 300).
Jesus to Catalina:

The Stations of The Cross - loveandmercy.org/Eng-SOC-Reg.pdf

Allow yourself to be embraced by My most ardent desire that all souls will come and purify themselves in the water of penance, and that the feeling of confidence and not fear may penetrate them, because I am a God of Mercy and I am always ready to receive them in My Heart.

Jesus to Catalina:

The Great Crusade of Love - loveandmercy.org/Eng-CL-Reg.pdf

**I would like to be presented like the prodigal son’s father who, aged by the pain of his son’s absence, keeps watch from a window with a small light of hope for the return of his beloved son. I live among all of you in the air you breathe, the water you drink, and the bread you eat, with all the grandiose work of creation that never ceases. In this manner I am among you all, alive, real, with the perpetual sacrifice of the Cross and the glory of the resurrection in each Eucharist.

I want the world to know that God is unchanging, that He never lessens His love for men; I need for man to know that I never set limits to my forgiveness and that I do not ask the prodigal son how he has squandered my estate, nor do I ask for an account of his wickedness. It is a new Mercy that I want to give freely to this new generation.**

Jesus to Catalina:

The Stations of The Cross - loveandmercy.org/Eng-SOC-Reg.pdf

**I say again, My children, poor sinners! Do not distance yourselves from Me. I wait for you night and day at the Tabernacle. I will not reproach you for your crimes; I will not throw your sins in your face. What I will do is to wash you with the Blood of My wounds. Do not be afraid, come to Me. You do not know how much I love you.

Come now, My children. Come to Me. I am your Lord Who awaits you in the Tabernacle. I am completely present in Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. Do you want to know Me? Then come and spend time with Me. I love you, dear children. **

https://sp2.yimg.com/ib/th?id=HN.608056249888476790&pid=15.1

The prodigal son was a slave to sin, he was suffering consequences, and came back to his father who welcomed him with open arms. Our Father doesnt cause our suffering, our suffering is the result of our sin, this fallen world we wander in and those under the influence of evil. Turning to Our Father should always be our answer. I pray you find solace in Father’s arms.

God Bless

Thank you for reading
Josh

 

[fred_conty]

I want to serve God out of love and not fear but I was raised to be terrified of Him and despite my best efforts I often feel there’s no good in me because something really traumatic happened to me lately and I wonder if God’s punishing me brutally for my sins, though I thought I was doing everything right. Now I feel like a slave to God where once I was a slave to the devil. Will God torture me to make me obedient? Does He want me to be His slave? I need a reality check here.
I should mention I completely trusted Him not to let that thing happen, so I’m afraid that if I’m not perfect in every way something else tragic will happen.
Clarity?

This will help answer your need.
catholictradition.org/Mary/prayers7.htm

May God bless and keep you. May God’s face shine on you. May God be kind to you and give you peace.