Monday, September
10, 2018
Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin. And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said, “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.” As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever? For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.
Hebrews 12:3-12(NLT)
Scripture reminds us that Christ gave everything for us to be
forgiven, and that we might live.
Sometimes we forget that momentarily; sometimes we grow weary and
consider just sitting down with that I’m done finality when we
just can’t seem to muster the strength to go on another step.
In some detail the writer of Hebrews reminds us that whatever
stage of life and ministry in which we now find ourselves, the difficulties are
momentary if we don’t give up. In fact,
the difficulties are God’s way of pointing us in the right direction and
refining us for future and better service.
He says that discipline is always good for us.
Frankly, that hits me like the sound of something I’ve heard before: This is gonna hurt me more than you. Did you ever hear that just before you
entered the woodshed?
As a parent what hurt me more than anything was disciplining our
children. It really did hurt me more
than what they felt. Yet, what I tried
to do was give my child a direct understanding of how doing the right thing was
more important than any temporary satisfying of what they thought was fun or
gratifying. I was pointing them to a
more worthwhile life.
And, still, the Hebrews writer points out that no matter whether
it is a human parent, or our Heavenly Parent, no discipline is fun – it hurts
to be corrected, stopped dead in your tracks, and make a U-turn. But, in the end it leads to a peaceful
harvest of right living.
As I write this on Monday morning before the sun is up, I am as
bone tired as I’ve been in a while.
Sundays have that effect; worship is always a grace-filled, hunger-satisfying,
time of joy, meaningful beyond measure; it also takes a toll on my physical
strength. And the fact is, I needed very
much to have these words from Hebrews about regaining strength for the new day’s
challenges.
Let’s hear them again:
So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.
God says to His weary servants:
Get a grip…stand straight…look over the opportunities for service and
make some plans…there are others who need what I will give you the strength to
do!
And…BOOM…there it is…all the reason I needed to go on!
For You Today
If you’re tired today and looking for a reason to sit down, don’t
ever look in God’s Word for reasons to quit; in God’s world the servant runs on
Isaiah’s kind of fuel:
But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31(NLT)
So, trust in the Lord…you’ll have plenty of reason to go on!
No comments:
Post a Comment