Persevere

October 12
While considering the extremely difficult things Sharon and I have had to endure for the past several months, God spoke to me from His word and reminded me of two things: 1. the Lord disciplines those whom He loves (Hebrews 12:6); and 2. all of those who did mighty things for God experienced great tragedy in their lives; and most of them on multiple occasions. Job lost all his wealth and every single child in one day (all ten). He lost his health on another. Elijah had the King and Queen of Israel out to have his head. David lost his kingdom, his friends, his own son tried to usurp his throne, and he was the direct cause of 70,000 men of Israel dying when he numbered them against the advice of his generals and the priests. Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den for praying; Jeremiah was persecuted most of his life, was thrown into a muddy cistern and left to die. Naomi lost her husband and both sons. Most of the first century prophets and preachers were martyred and tens of thousands (maybe millions) have died for their faith since then. And most importantly, the Messiah of Israel and the Gentiles died an excruciating death on the cross at Calvary for sins He never committed.


Wow! My life has been one of relative ease when compared to those who have gone before us. My best guess is that most of yours have also. Of course we grieve when we lose loved ones or when friends desert us in our time of need. The disciples deserted Jesus and fled for their lives just hours after they swore allegiance to the death to Him. In the final analysis, we pray as David prayed on many occasions that though our closes friends are often alienated from us the moment things get difficult, our Lord never deserts us. One particular verse has come to mind hundreds of times in my life since Jesus called me to ministry, “Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, " I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU," (Heb. 13:5) Again, as King David said in several places in the Psalms, “My closest friends may forsake me, but the Lord will always be the Rock upon which I will stand strong.” It seems that the only way God can get our undivided attention is to somehow bring us to our knees. When our lives are uneventful and/or going smoothly it is the propensity of man to become a little proud and deaf to the voice of His Spirit as He resides within our bosom. That is both unfortunate and unnecessary. Also, oftentimes we accumulate far too many things that we value way to much, so He has to prune those things from our lives so we can be better warriors. Finally, we tend to become rather arrogant and proud when life is good. God warns us against such a reaction to His blessing, and He gives us time to humble ourselves (He has no desire to do it for us). When we fail do so, he humbles us (Luke 14:11; 18:14; James 4:10; James 5:6). The most important thing for us to remember is that God does not punish His redeemed. Two words are used for His care for us: pruned and disciplined. The purpose of both is to hone us so we are more useful for accomplishing His specific purposes for each of us. He has reserved punishment for unbelievers. Punishment is not meant to bring repentance, just a reminder that His name is to be treated as holy. And these are God’s words of wisdom and comfort for us today.