Afflictions bearing names
“A bullet don’t have nobody’s name on it.” So I was instructed years ago by a prosecution witness explaining the dangers of life in the ‘hood. Unlike bullets in the ‘hood, afflictions from the Lord are not random. They do have someone’s name on them: “Have you considered My servant Job?” (Job 1.8.) Bullets with no names on them are a good cause for fear; afflictions with names on them are good cause for comfort: “I know, O Lord, that your judgments are right, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me. Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep your word. It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn your statutes.” (Psalm 119.75, 67, 71.)
Job 1.8. “A bullet don’t have nobody’s name on it.” So I was instructed years ago by a prosecution witness explaining the dangers of life in the ‘hood. Unlike bullets in the ‘hood, afflictions from the Lord are not random. They do have someone’s name on them: “Have you considered My servant Job?” (Job 1.8.) Bullets with no name on them are a good cause for fear; afflictions with names on them are good cause for comfort: “I know, O Lord, that your judgments are right, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me. Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep your word. It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn your statutes.” (Psalm 119.75, 67, 71.)
The Afflictions bearing names by Alan Burrow, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
There is comfort in knowing my Father afflicts me for my good.
But since He is also sovereign over all, doesn’t he therefore name every bullet that flies? A bullet that the human shooter doesn’t intend for me may yet still be for me, in my divine Father’s providence. Should I fear unnamed bullets?