VERSE: “Despise not the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when you are rebuked of Him.” Hebrews 12:5
OSWALD: “It is very easy to quench the Spirit; we do it by despising the chastening of the Lord, by fainting when we are rebuked by Him…do not despise Him when He says to you – ‘Don’t be blind on this point anymore; you are not where you thought you were. Up to the present I have not been able to reveal it to you, but I reveal it now.’ When the Lord chastens you like that, let Him have His way. Let Him relate you rightly to God. ” (AUGUST 14th)
MY THOUGHT:
Isn’t it interesting how quick we are to say, “I’m not perfect” – but then deeply resent it when someone points out the particulars of that imperfection?
The Lord has been focusing on a few flaws in my life lately and to be honest, it’s not a lot of fun. I would rather He turn a blind eye to my humanity. More to the point, I’d rather He’d focus on the people and situations that tend to reveal the uglier part of my lower nature. “Fix them, God!” I suggest. But He doesn’t seem to be listening.
Because God’s up to something more than just making me comfortable. He wants to mature and complete me. He wants me to run, not waddle. He wants me to fly, not faint.
But such athletic ability doesn’t just happen. There is always a training period involved. A time of both discipline and critique. “Pump your arms, don’t flail them,” the coach barks as we run by. “Keep your eyes fixed on the goal, Weaver, not on the competitor beside you,” he shouts as I stray off the track yet again. Perfect form doesn’t just happen. It has to be developed.
Hebrews 12 talks about this process and the necessity of discipline and chastening if we hope to complete the “race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1). But it also points out that the discipline isn’t meant to limit us but enable us. And that the chastening isn’t intended to demean and demoralize us, but to infuse our hearts with the power and the know-how to run.
So dear friend, what flaw is God putting His finger on in your life right now? Don’t despise His instruction. Don’t be “blind on this point anymore.”
Receive the rebuke of the Lord and repent. Ask for wisdom and then apply it. For there is a race marked out for you. It’s time to run!