Uses of Affliction 04 031714

Uses of Afflcition 04

3.  Conviction of sin.

Now we quit preaching and go to meddleing :0.

There is nothing like an afflcition to clearly expose the depth of the remaining corruption we need to address.  Nothing can expose the sin still lurking in our hearts like a good ol' afflcition.

Over the past 15 months or so as we have dealt with a certain amount of afflcition.  Through it I have discovered sinfulness I never would have named as being my own.  I have never known the depth of my self-love and selfishness until the Lord brought our afflcition.

Even as I was examining my faith and my attachment to the world (Uses 1 and 2) I was overwhelmed by the insidiousness of my sin.  My pride and resentment, my presumption, my poor stewardship - it all was exposed to a degree I had never experienced.

Prayer was the first to fall.  I discovered that many of my prayers were a redundant chorus of "me me me my my my mine mine mine IIIIIIII."  I was shocked to say the least.  But I would not have noticed had we not been under an affliction.  They tend to get your focus on yourself in a real unhealthy way.

It took real focus and effort to correct my self-absorbed prayers but they were sin and had to be confronted and corrected - it certainly was convicting.

But more than the mechanics of our walk, afflcitions really drill down into our hearts and expose the silt and "stuff" - the sin - that still resides there.  Anger, pride, resentment, presumption are just a few I've found and they were there in very subtle forms - but they were there.

They say that the most important thing to a shepherd is the fence that keeps the sheep in.  That, from my experience, is very true.  Afflictions come where and when we are outside the fence and they come to draw us back in.  That's how good Shepherds work with their sheep.

We need to pay serious heed to the fact that "conviction" means we have been found guilty.  Conviciton is a fact.  Yes, we may have feelings that attend it but it is not a feeling.  It is a cold hard fact!  And affliction should bring conviction.

We need the heat of afflcitions to expose and draw off the dross in us, the sin in us.  Without the refining heat of afflcition the dross simply keeps accumulating until we are full of it.

I read a piece today that stated something on the order of, 'In Christ we never lack anything we need.  If we do not have it we may assume we do not need it (yet, if at all).'
Inversely may we not assume that if God takes something away it is becasue we need for it to be taken away?  I think so.

But funadmentaly and critically afflictions bring (or should bring) conviction of sin.  God is getting our attention and calling us to a deeper examination of our hearts.  Do not assume yu will not find any sin there!  You must!  And in finding it you must accept the conviction (fact of your guilt) and then repentantly address the sin.