The Hope Series – He wounds and binds up; He crushes, yet His hands heal
The lecture discusses God’s attitude toward human beings during tribulations and trials, emphasizing that God does not abandon His children in the midst of suffering, but works within the tribulation to provide solutions, consolation, and a way out. A tribulation may come from different causes, such as the evil of people, the consequences of sin, or the envy of demons, yet God remains able to use it for good. His Holiness Pope Shenouda explains that the trial God permits remains within the person’s capacity to endure, and that God provides with the trial a way out and divine help, and may even make it a path to blessing and a crown.
Spiritual Message
The lecture emphasizes that God may wound and discipline, yet at the same time He binds up and heals, because His discipline is filled with tenderness and mercy rather than revenge or harshness. This truth appears in the examples of Adam, Cain, David, Jonah, and Joseph the Righteous, where discipline or tribulation was accompanied by God’s saving and merciful work. The lecture also presents examples of the saints and martyrs who endured trials because they experienced divine consolation, inner peace, and hope in eternal life alongside their sufferings.
Educational Lesson
The main lesson is that a person should not see only half of the truth by looking at the tribulation while forgetting God’s hand working within it, or seeing the suffering while forgetting His help, love, and consolation. The strong believer does not doubt God’s love because of a trial, but remains steadfast in faith and trusts that God is working even when the person cannot see His purpose. The lecture explains that tribulations can become a means of spiritual growth, gaining experience, and drawing closer to God, as happened with Joseph the Righteous, David, John the Beloved, and others.
Practical Spiritual Application
The believer should accept tribulation with faith, without complaining or doubting God’s love, and should always remember that the Lord is present with him and is working for his good. When a trial comes, he should not abandon prayer, church, confession, or fasting because of suffering, but should become more steadfast in his relationship with God. The person should learn to say with confidence that God is good in everything He permits, and to see in tribulation an opportunity to experience God’s help and to have suffering transformed into blessing. In this way, God’s children rejoice in the Lord both in times of grace and in times of trial, because all things work together for good for those who love God.
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