Word of Encouragement (9/22/2020)

Today, let’s briefly consider God’s promise of wise and tender correction by our affliction. The authors say,

“The Lord also promises to use our afflictions for our eternal good. This is because we undergo trials not as enemies of God, but as children of God through our saving relationship with Christ. To those without Christ, trials are but foretastes of the coming judgment, but to [us] who are in Christ, trials are mediated by God’s eternal grace and love. The Lord has promised our correction and spiritual benefits through our affliction. Keeping this in mind will help us face our troubles with the view of how we can profit from them rather than how long we have to suffer” (p. 80).

What a blessing it is to have the assurance that, because Jesus suffered the punishment of our sins once for all, the sufferings we go through are not unto destruction but unto growth in sanctification! Can any of us deny that we still need to grow in our Christian walk, that we need to be corrected and trained in many areas of our lives? The authors quote Heb. 12:6: “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” Oh, to know that not only are we loved by God but also loved by Him as His beloved child! Unfortunately, for now, discipline is an integral part of God’s fatherly love for us because we are not yet perfected and glorified as we shall be on the day of Christ’s Return: “If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons” (Heb. 12:8). Leigh expresses it in this way: “He that escapes his affliction, may suspect his adoption” (p. 80).

We may love our children but we are often at a loss as to how to discipline our erring children. But God is infinitely wise and He knows how best to discipline us. Instead of refusing and balking His discipline, thinking that we know a better way, we should humbly submit ourselves to our heavenly Father and seek to learn the lesson that God is trying to teach us. Even so, we must not forget that “He promises to temper it with great compassion and tenderness” (Lam. 3:31-32) (p. 81). After all, He disciplines us not as a hard-driving coach but as our loving Father.

If our afflictions were a preview to our final judgment, we would try to run away from God as fast and as far as possible. But if our sufferings are God’s fatherly discipline, we should run toward Him in humility, surrender, and gratitude. Not all our afflictions are corrections for our sins but they all have something to teach us. What do you think God is trying to teach you today?