Isaiah 5:6 "I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and briars and thorns shall grow up; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it."

This is part of the song of God's vineyard. God is comparing His people to a vineyard He lovingly dug, planted, and tended, only to have it grow wild grapes (Isaiah 5:1-2), so now He will stop tending it, break down its protective wall, and allow no rain to reach it, making it a waste (Isaiah 5:5-6).

Just two days ago, my reading was also from Isaiah. In that reading, God was reminding His people that He will never abandon them, yet this reading certainly sounds an awful lot like abandonment! In fact, though, it is not. Abandonment would be if God just let the vineyard decay on its own. Rather, God is taking active steps to bring about the laying waste of the vineyard that is Israel. He is taking down their protective wall, He is denying them rain.

This is not abandonment, which indicates a lack of care, but chastisement, which actually indicates great love. God knows His people have gone so far astray that they will not come back unless they suffer, so He is bringing that suffering to them. It will only last as long and be as harsh as necessary to achieve its purpose, but that may be very long and harsh, indeed. Nonetheless, it is only out of love and care for their ultimate salvation that God allows this.

There is purpose for all of our sufferings, although this is very difficult to understand, especially when we are going through them. I like to try to picture myself walking next to Jesus as He carries His Cross to remind myself of this. Suffering is redemptive and necessary, and we are so blessed that our God walks with us as we suffer, suffering right along with us! He will never abandon us, but He will lovingly chastise us, and that hurts Him more than it does us!