“But if you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands, and if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant, then I will do this to you: I will bring on you sudden terror, wasting diseases and fever that will destroy your sight and sap your strength. You will plant seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it. I will set my face against you so that you will be defeated by your enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you.” Leviticus 26:14-17

Maybe. Sin causes us to make bad choices and those bad choices have consequences, making life difficult.

Then again, God may make our lives difficult because of sins in the past or present. He could be trying to get our attention and lead us, once and for all, towards resolving those issues through confession. Our guilt and paranoia are warning lights on our spiritual dashboard telling us to take care of some problem under the hood.

We can’t say that every bad thing points to some other bad thing that happened before. Every flat tire, every lost job, every earthquake isn’t God punishing us.

When difficulties come we should go over a checklist in our hearts and ask ourselves “why did this happen” and “was it caused by something in the past."  If so, then we need to say “what steps do I need to take to resolve it.”

If there’s nothing there, don’t create a bad persona for yourself.  Don't make yourself the bad guy all the time.

God does not enjoy making us miserable for His own gratification, though He knows well that tragedy and heartache keep us close to Him.