Anguish

 

    Anguish is intense suffering, pain, or distress to the mind, body, or spirit.  It can be related to excessive grief, remorse, and despair.  Anguish in Hebrew is tsa'ar (צַעַר).  It references dolor, misery, and sorrow.  In Aramaic the word is "oy".  In Greek it is agonía (αγωνία).  In Latin it is angustia.  This is where we get the English word anguish.  It was introduced in the 13th century.

    Moses relayed God's message to the Hebrew nation, but they refused to listen.  They were in anguish causing them to be discouraged.  In their opinion, God's timing was taking too long.  The generations of slavery had taken a heavy toll on the people's moral, so God sent Moses to the Pharoah to request letting God's people go.  This was not a task that Moses wanted.  He knew the people he was going to confront and understood the difficult task ahead, but God would not relent.  It had to happen for things to change.

    Job spoke of his anguish.  It was so severe that it had to be expressed.  His soul was bitter and it was eating him up inside.  He saw himself as a monster placed under guard.  He wanted sleep to find peace, but he only found a different kind of misery.  His life was a terrifying vision to the point that he rather had been dead than to live another moment in that anguish.  He hated his life and could not see an end to the misery.

    It was God's plan for Jesus to be crushed.  Jesus came to earth to live in grief, but that was part of his life being an offering for sin.  Jesus enjoyed his life for the most part.  He understood that God's plan was good that his anguish would fulfill it.  Jesus was the righteous servant that made salvation possible because he bore the sins of everyone: past, present, and future.  He became the victorious soldier when he rose from the dead.  His victory is that his anguish interceded the sins of rebels who chose to believe and follow him.

    Stubborn people refuse to turn from their sins and store up a terrible punishment.  The day of God's righteous anger is coming and will reveal true justice.  He judges according to our deeds.  Those that will have eternal life with him seek His glory, honor, and immortality.  He will pour His anger and wrath on everyone else.  If you refuse the truth, then you will have an eternity of anguish.  God does not show favoritism, so you can trust that His Word is true.

    It is a choice to bring grief or not to bring grief to other people.  Causing other people grief really only brings grief upon yourself.  It is pointless.  Choose to bring joy into the lives of other people and you will be joyful.  Even in great anguish and a troubled heart, you can choose to do good unto other people.  You may cry your tears, but act in love instead of selfishness.

Exodus 6:9-13, Job 7:11-16, Isaiah 53:10-12, Romans 2:5-11, & 2 Corinthians 2:1-4