Because you have raged against me . . . I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will turn you back on the way by which you came. Isaiah 37:29
As I listened yesterday at our jail Bible study, two of the guys thanked God for jail. Thank you, God, for bringing me to jail. I know I would not be following you today without it. I know that I would still be on the run, following myself to destruction.
A cynical person will say that these guys are just finding God in jail, out of desperation, to attach some meaning to their miserable condition. As a Christian, I would agree with this and insist that God’s will was instrumental in bringing about that misery. I planned from days of old what now I bring to pass (Isaiah 37:26).
In today’s passage, God is speaking to – or about – the King of Assyria who was mocking God and opposing his people. God promised that this path of rebellion would not be tolerated forever and that he would use a hook in the nose and a bit in the mouth to correct Assyria’s defiance. This is going to hurt.
Anyone who has run from God, only to feel his relentless pursuit, knows exactly what this passage means. God may allow us to go our own way for a time, but if we are his, he eventually uses whatever means are necessary to correct our path. For some of us, this can be quite painful. The guys in jail know exactly what this means.
I’m not saying that all pain is discipline, designed to change our course. I am insisting that when we run from God, we should expect that he will eventually end our rebellion, one way or another.
Like the guys in jail, I’ve become thankful for the consequences of my addiction. I’m not glad that I’ve hurt others, but I’m thankful that God continues to love me enough to turn me from my own path. I’m thankful for the opportunity to follow him now, not only because I fear discipline, but because of his love for me and my love for him.