163. God Wounds and Heals
Deuteronomy 32:39 See now that I, even I am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.
There is no God but the Lord. There is no one, and no god, that can take us out of the hand of God. That is a promise: nothing, no one, no god or demon, can snatch us out of the loving and strong hands of our God and Savior. We are safe with Him forever, Because of God’s promises we are safe and secure with the Lord always. Therefore, I will have no other gods, nor will I place anything or anyone above my Lord and my God. He is my only good, and all good things come from Him alone.
It is also necessary for our life that we believe God’s Word and Promise that God is good and He does all things well. It is important to believe this when things are not going so well, when we are in the midst of the storms at sea, and when we are in the valley of the shadow of death. The Lord God kills and makes alive; the Lord wounds and heals. We are ready to believe and receive the healing and making alive part, but less eager to welcome the killing and wounding part. Remember that when the Lord kills and wounds He also makes alive and heals.
It is difficult to accept, but true, that God kills and wounds. It is more difficult to accept that killing and wounding can come from a good God, the One in whom we are trusting for everything good. The problem we have is this: why would God kill and wound me, for I am such a good guy? Well, that kind of thinking (pride) needs to be driven out of me, just like it was for good guy Job. Job, like us, through trials, learns that God is good all the time, that He is God, He is always good, and I don’t need to question Him. He knows what He is doing. Let Him do it.
One thing we need to learn to accept is that God is killing and wounding the sin and evil in me, and He is healing and making alive the good God in me. I need to realize that I need the discipline, for I am still a sinner and not a god. Luther says, “The devil is God’s devil.” This is an enigmatic statement with profound meaning. In God’s hands “all things work together for good.” Even “killing” is good if it kills the evil and wounds the pride. And “making alive” is good when it resurrects the new man and heals the humbled soul. We take this promise so that we can put ourselves in God’s hands to do with us as He sees fit and thinks it good. We trust Him to do a good job.