Many men owe the grandeur of their lives to their tremendous difficulties.—Charles Spurgeon
Trials teach us what we are; they dig up the soil, and let us see what we are made of. —Charles Spurgeon
I have done it. I, after much nudging from an unnamed source, am going to presuppose that there are enough of you out there who are interested in the view from my window. Please be gentle: I cry easily.
So what do I share in my inaugural blog post? Just some thoughts I have been challenged with this season. Most of you know that my husband, er, blog host has been jobless this whole summer. While it has been nice having him home this change sets a whole new tone in our home. In the past, during the day I am usually the primary disciplinarian (unless it is a felony offense and then they get the one phone call to DAD). He will take the duty in the evenings so I can gain my voice and sanity back. This summer changed everything. Instead of two parents being on active duty (which would seem more effective) we ended up being more lax in rules and attitudes. Usually the responsibility fell to the parent in closest proximity to the offending child. So sometimes the guilty party would end up being reprimanded twice before we realized the other parent had dealt with the offense sufficiently and other times nothing would end up being done thinking that the other one had already taken care of the issue. You can probably tell which scenario pleased our children more. I am hoping it will all work itself out in the end and therapy will not be a costly consequence for our children.
My rambling aside, I will now get to the meat of this post. Hebrews 12 is filled with the riches of grace that come through the discipline of our heavenly Father. My discipline at its best can at times be haphazard and confusing for a 4 year-old (who has just given herself matching mullet hairstyles with her Barbie) but falls short in being an accurate reflection of his purpose and wisdom in that discipline.
I am greatly encouraged by the endless testimonies that are in Hebrews 11. I love being reminded through the mini-biographies of so many of my “heroes”. We are consistently reminded of their faith in the One who is Faithful. We bear witness to this fact by an old woman and her husband who is described as being as good as dead birthing a promised child, a stuttering leader who led a chosen people through a sea, a prostitute who risked befriending strangers, bold prophets, lions’ mouths being closed, women receiving back their dead, many, according to verse 38, “…of whom the world was not worthy”. Why do I bring up Chapter 11 in my discourse on discipline? Because I believe chapters 11 and 12 are intrinsically tied together. It is their stories used to urge us on in perseverance and endurance in the beginning of 12. It is through this gift of discipline that these heroes are strengthened for their challenges. Hebrews 12:7-13 states, “It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and are not sons. . .but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and makes paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.”
Discipline is vastly different from punishment (though at the time they feel eerily similar). According to Merriam-Webster the definition of Discipline is training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character and the definition of Punishment is suffering, pain, or loss that serves as retribution. As a follower of Christ my sins were paid for 2000 years ago on the cross. I can’t be held accountable for past, present, and future because of the atoning work of Jesus Christ at Calvary. I can and hopefully am consistently being disciplined in the sense that God is continually molding and shaping me into the image of Christ through a variety of methods which can include trials, testings, and sufferings. Discipline arrives in all forms: illness, relationship woes, financial stresses, and unplanned obstacles. Is this cause for concern or worry? According to some well-known popular preachers God would rather I have My best Life Now. That trials are from unwise choices – God’s way of getting our attention so we return to him, unavoidable in that he (God) has no control over certain circumstances. I wholeheartedly disagree with this philosophy. His discipline is evidence of my place in the family. So rejoice in the discipline and revel in the love your Father is showing you. It is, after all, in His enduring strength that you will persevere. Stand firm in the knowledge of grace, fix your eyes on the goal. He is using these testings to draw you nearer to your source of strength. He is revealing his character to you in remarkable ways. He is giving you evidence of your sonship. So while the summer winds down and routine takes over, hopefully my discipline will be viewed in a more positive light. While my children have yet to thank me for disciplining them, I hope I can take my own advice and take time to praise my Provider both for material blessings as well as spiritual blessings he has so richly bestowed upon me even in the unexpected form of job loss.
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This is my wife’s someone else’s first article.
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