2 Chronicles 15:3
“Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law.”
Many of the troubles experienced in life are self-inflicted. Yes, we have troubles that come because of others, but many of our troubles could be averted if we didn't inflict them upon ourselves. The amazing part about self-inflicted troubles is that they are all a result of bad decisions. If we avoided bad decisions, we could avoid self-inflicted troubles.
Throughout Israel’s history, we find that most of their problems were self-inflicted. They certainly had problems that were brought upon them because other nations disliked them, but most of their problems could have been avoided. God shows us in the verse above three things that led to their problems.
The first cause of their problems was that they lived without God. Think of this, they were known as God’s nation, but they chose to live without Him. This is no different from a Christian choosing to live without God. Many Christians go through life without one time asking God for His wisdom or guidance. Making God a part of your life is a choice. It is a choice whether or not to go to church. It is a choice whether or not to ask God for His mind about whether you should do something. Anytime you choose to do things on your own, you are inflicting trouble on yourself. Anytime you choose to live a life of sin, you are choosing to inflict troubles into your life. It is your choice. Just like Israel chose to not make God their primary focus; likewise, you have a choice every day whether or not you are going to live for God or live a life of sin.
The second cause of Isreal’s problems was that they chose to live without a preacher. Every person needs a man of God in their life. It is very arrogant of a Christian to think that they don't need a man of God to tell them when they are doing wrong or guide them in their decision-making. So many people today tend to belittle the need of a man of God in their life because they want to be their own authority. They use their flimsy excuse that we are to serve God and not man, but they very well know that their reasoning of not having a man of God in their life is so that they can live their worldly lifestyle. You can avoid self-inflicted troubles in your life if you will include a man of God in your life and allow him to be the voice of reason from God to guide, warn and encourage you in your Christian life.
The third cause of Isreal’s problem was that they chose to live without the Word of God. Whenever you choose not to read the Scriptures daily, you are adding trouble to your life. Many self-inflicted troubles could be avoided simply by reading God’s Word every day. It is in God’s Word that you will find the guidance you need for that day. It is God’s Word that will bring conviction to the areas of your life that need to be changed. It is God’s Word that encourages you to keep going in those times when life seems to be especially hard. Choosing to live your day without ever opening God’s Word is begging for self-inflicted troubles.
A Christian cannot live without these three things in their lives, for if they do, they are bound for heartache. Be careful to always keep all three things in your life, because all of these things are important to living a happy and successful life.