Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 39:7-13
Ps 39:7-13
7 "But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you. 8 Save me from all my transgressions; do not make me the scorn of fools. 9 I was silent; I would not open my mouth, for you are the one who has done this. 10 Remove your scourge from me; I am overcome by the blow of your hand. 11 You rebuke and discipline men for their sin; you consume their wealth like a moth--each man is but a breath. Selah 12 "Hear my prayer, O LORD, listen to my cry for help; be not deaf to my weeping. For I dwell with you as an alien, a stranger, as all my fathers were. 13 Look away from me, that I may rejoice again before I depart and am no more."
Heb 12:7-9
7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!
Discipline is much more than just punishment. The word, as used here, originally was used in horticulture when a gardener would tie a young tender tree so that it would grow in a certain direction. It then came to mean training that was difficult to endure. God trains us and helps us to grow in his direction and likeness.
We all face hardships. They come in as many different forms as we are different people, living in different circumstances. Some of them are common, such as (but not limited to) death, sickness, financial difficulties, relationship problems at work and in the home, and then, all kinds of trials that come with sin. Each of these can help to train us, to mold us in the likeness of Jesus and to strengthen our faith.
It is up to us to allow any or all of these to make us better and not bitter. It is our choice to allow them to shape our lives for good or to destroy us. Even the worst things we face in life can teach us valuable lessons that we could learn in no other way. Trials (even sins that we commit) can strengthen our faith in ways that nothing else can do for us. By all of these we learn to trust God, not ourselves.
Heavenly Father, I do not like trials, hardships, sickness or death. But I remember that Jesus did not like these or want to face them either. Help me be like him so I will trust you in all I face and determine that your will be done in my life, even when it is difficult and painful. Forgive me when I fail to live up to your glory. Use me to help others, comfort others and teach others, using what I learn from the trials I face in my life. Lord, I ask a special prayer and your care on those suffering pains and disabilities caused by arthritis. I pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
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