Scripture
My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent His rebuke.
~Proverbs 3:11, NIV
Quote
For every forty-nine who can handle adversity, there is only one who can handle success.
~Chuck Swindoll
Discipline is a good thing but never pleasant. Our sanctification begins as soon as our justification is secured. God’s purpose in our sanctification is to move us from being self-centered and vain to becoming Christlike in our love for God and our neighbor. To accomplish this task, there are a lot of things that have to go. Patiently, God shows us our idols one by one and we watch as He crushes them into the dust. Prosperity and adversity are God’s tools: He uses them to reveal our weaknesses. Of the two, adversity seems to be the best teacher. The Chinese theologian Watchman Nee said, “We learn nothing except through adversity.” I heard someone say years ago, “I graduated from the school of hard knocks: it’s colors are black and blue.”
I was sharing with someone yesterday how gentle God has been in destroying my idols. One by one, He has crushed them and their loss has not produced any sorrow. God’s grace is amazing. Even covid-19 was a teacher. I don’t give success much thought anymore but I am excited about my sanctification. The outer man is decaying but the inner man is being renewed day by day and I praise the LORD for His marvelous grace that is making us like Jesus. I heard a little poem when I was a kid and it stuck in my brain– “I walked a mile with pleasure and she chatted all the way but I was none the wiser for what she had to say. I walked a mile with sorrow and never a word spoke she but oh the things that I did learn when sorrow walked with me.”
Sorry about the late post. I had a little too much caffeine yesterday and it kept me awake last night. I hope you have a great day and a great weekend.