Good morning -
The pain is for our ultimate good; such is the design of divine discipline. A recurring theme in the Old Testament is God's punishment of Israel because of their sinful disobedience, but an equally prominent theme is His promise of restoration. Notice in Ezekiel 39:
"The nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile for their iniquity because they acted treacherously against Me, and I hid My face from them; so I gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and all of them fell by the sword. According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I dealt with them, and I hid My face from them.Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, "Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name ... Then they will know that I am the LORD their God because I made them go into exile among the nations, and then gathered them again to their own land; and I will leave none of them there any longer. I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel," declares the Lord GOD. (Ezekiel 39:23-25, 28-29)
God's discipline is designed to be corrective, not punitive. As a loving parent He disciplines in order to bring those whom He loves back into His grace and abundant blessings. The design of His discipline is best described in Proverbs 3:11-12:
"My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD Or loathe His reproof, For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights."
Discipline makes only partial sense at best to a child. Pain or deprivation is the incentive for better behavior, but the motivation and purposes of the parents are unclear. Adulthood brings a clearer understanding and appreciation of the perspective of parental discipline.
From our vantage point as the children of God, the discipline of the Lord is sometimes unclear. In this age we are not fully aware of all the character issues in our lives that need to be shaped and molded to make us fit for the Kingdom of God. The challenging circumstances that we may be presently facing could be for the very purpose of shaping some aspect of our character according to the Lord's perfect plan. Although painful, those circumstances have the potential to yield perfected character.
If we believe that the Lord is totally good and that His purposes for us are for our absolute good, then we can trust His direction in our lives today.
Trusting today's circumstances to be used for His ultimate good,
Pastor Steve
The pain is for our ultimate good; such is the design of divine discipline. A recurring theme in the Old Testament is God's punishment of Israel because of their sinful disobedience, but an equally prominent theme is His promise of restoration. Notice in Ezekiel 39:
"The nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile for their iniquity because they acted treacherously against Me, and I hid My face from them; so I gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and all of them fell by the sword. According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I dealt with them, and I hid My face from them.Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, "Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name ... Then they will know that I am the LORD their God because I made them go into exile among the nations, and then gathered them again to their own land; and I will leave none of them there any longer. I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel," declares the Lord GOD. (Ezekiel 39:23-25, 28-29)
God's discipline is designed to be corrective, not punitive. As a loving parent He disciplines in order to bring those whom He loves back into His grace and abundant blessings. The design of His discipline is best described in Proverbs 3:11-12:
"My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD Or loathe His reproof, For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights."
Discipline makes only partial sense at best to a child. Pain or deprivation is the incentive for better behavior, but the motivation and purposes of the parents are unclear. Adulthood brings a clearer understanding and appreciation of the perspective of parental discipline.
From our vantage point as the children of God, the discipline of the Lord is sometimes unclear. In this age we are not fully aware of all the character issues in our lives that need to be shaped and molded to make us fit for the Kingdom of God. The challenging circumstances that we may be presently facing could be for the very purpose of shaping some aspect of our character according to the Lord's perfect plan. Although painful, those circumstances have the potential to yield perfected character.
If we believe that the Lord is totally good and that His purposes for us are for our absolute good, then we can trust His direction in our lives today.
Trusting today's circumstances to be used for His ultimate good,
Pastor Steve
posted by steve @ 11:00 AM
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