Devotion for January 24, 2015: My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction; for whom the Lord loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights. - Proverbs 3:11-12 Roush spots in life are common. There is not a life that will not have a rough spot or fifty. There is not a person alive who has not had a bad day. Yet, this has nothing to do with our text today. So often we look at the bad day that we have and we like to point the finger at God. We see the person in the car cut us off and we like to think that God is testing us. We end up in the hospital and we think that God is preparing us for some grand suffering that will come later. We lose our house or our family and we think that God must be behind this…but He is not. Think back to the story of Job. When all those events happened to Job it was not God who did them; rather, God allowed them to happen to Job. God did not strike Job’s family; God did not strike His body; God did not cause Job to lose everything…but God did allow it to happen. And so it is with us. God is not up in heaven plotting out the next horrible thing that is going to happen, but He is watching and He will allow certain things to enter into our lives. Maybe a hospital visit was not God’s doing, but He will use it to allow you to finally let your pastor come and see you…you know, the one you’ve been avoiding for months. Maybe you lose a job because of constant lateness, not God’s doing but yours; however, God uses this as a chance for you to get your priorities right and come into His house a little more on Sunday mornings. See, God is not sitting in heaven looking for ways to ruin our days; rather, He is watching over you and making sure that everything works out to your advantage. Of course, when things do happen to us we often believe that God is punishing us. Yet, God does not punish us. For all of our punishment was already borne by another. Our punishment was borne by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It was Christ who lived the perfect life…all while being mocked and abused. It was Christ who bore all of our sins and guilt upon Himself as He hung on the cross. It was Christ who was punished for us, so that we would never be punished. It was also Christ who died the innocent death for us. It was Christ who hung upon the cross, praying for all those who had sinned. It was Christ who hung upon the cross and allowed His earthly life to slowly drain away. It was Christ who had us in mind and who experienced hell so that we would not have to. And three days later Jesus Christ rose from the dead. He rose to proclaim that His life, death, and resurrection were sufficient for all people. He rose to show that He has dominion over sin, death, and hell. He rose to show that His faithful children will rise too. Jesus lived, died, and rose again so that, though we sin, we will never experience hell but only eternal joy. And now through faith we know this is true. Through faith we know that Jesus Christ has taken away all of our sins. Through faith I know that Jesus lived, died, and rose again for me. Yes, through faith I know that heaven is now mine when this short life is over. And now through faith I know that God also corrects or chastens me. He does it in His word when He points out my sins. He does it in my life when He keeps me from going too far off of His path. He does it all my days when He asks me, expects me, to deny myself and follow Him. He corrects me…and for that I am eternally grateful. Throughout this life events will occur and God will allow them to occur. He is not using these events as punishment, nor is He the one who is instigating them; rather God is using these events in our lives to allow us to lean on Him all the more and find our solace and love in Him alone. Prayer: Lord, thank You for the corrections You place in my life. Please keep me always focused on Your Son, my Savior. Amen. Soli Deo Gloria!
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 00:42:07 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015