Tuesday, April 10: Hebrews 12- Endure hardship as discipline.

Verses sparked thoughts like bubbles erupting from a bottle of Champagne .

·         Verse 7: Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons.…

·         Verse 14: Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.

·         Verse 16: See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless …

These are only three of the sparkling verses that caught my eye.

With so many verses vying for meditation, verse 7 stuck fast, Endure hardship as discipline…

I am in a season where a number of friends are enduring hard times; finances and relationships top our lists. Life is not ‘fun’ right now. As I said to one friend, “crawling into bed and pulling the covers up (emotionally ‘running away’) seems like a viable coping option.” Difficult seasons of life…

Then I read those four words, Endure hardship as discipline. My mind is spinning. Is my tough time God’s discipline? Is God trying to show me something? Is God attempting to work some selfish attitude out of me or trying to work some godly attitude into me, as a baker who kneads dough making sure the yeast and ingredients get disbursed?

Discipline usually comes to mind when I think of punishment for wrong. Hardships seem much more generic … everyone has times of hardship. And redefining hardships as God’s caring discipline is a mental challenge…

Yet, there it is in Scripture: Endure hardship as discipline.

Obviously some ‘reformation of my thinking’ still needs to happen… 

Lord, this Word stings. It will take significant work to understand and more so submit to this Word. Thank You for continuing to work on me and with me. Continue refining me and disciplining me so that my life will more and more reflect You, my Lord and King. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

 

No comments:

Post a Comment