And the Lord will strike Egypt, He will strike and heal it; they will return to the Lord, and He will be entreated by them and heal them. —Isaiah 19:22
Some of you are experiencing turmoil right now. Like Egypt, your problems seem to compound one on top of the other, and you are in fear of what can happen next.
Some of you are going through a civil war— the war between the spirit and the flesh. And the flesh is winning. You find yourself doing things that you hate yourself for, but you don't have the power to resist. You feel hopeless. You feel you have been smitten by God.
God's smiting is always intended to heal— never to destroy.
God sees you doing those things that are harmful and damaging to you. And like a good, loving Father, He chastises you. He does this because you are His own, and He loves you, and He wants you to be healed. He wants to free you from those things that are destroying you. If you don't respond to the chastisement He has already brought, then He will chastise you again— and perhaps more painfully.
If your life is just one grand mess today and you feel you have been under the chastisement of God, you can begin the healing process right now by repenting and returning. Call on His name and He will begin to heal you of the calamity you have brought upon yourself.
Father, we thank You that when we go astray or become involved in destructive things, You don't leave us in the place of misery. In love, You chastise us in order to heal us. Help those who are struggling today. In Jesus' name, amen.