God’s Exercise Program
Before the foundation of
the world, God knew we would need spiritual as well as physical exercise. So He placed in the Bible His spiritual
exercise program. Surprisingly, I have
discovered that, as does physical exercise, it produces the same exhilarating
lifestyle, pleasant mental state, an antidote to depression, the ability to
respond to stress and pain, and adds life to one’s years!
But what about spiritual
exercise? Don’t be surprised if you
don’t know. In the Book of Hebrews we are told that we
have all forgotten God’s method of exercising His children, as set forth in
Proverbs 3:11-12, so the writer reminds us:
“My son, despise not thou the
chastening of the Lord…for whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth… afterward it
yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are EXERCISED
thereby” (Hebrews 12:5-11 Caps are mine)
Exercised by what? By an often misunderstood biblical
word—chastisement.
Accepting this teaching is
often difficult because of our negative concept of the chastisement—assuming it
to mean “punishment.” This causes us to
think that all the hard things which come to us are God’s form of retribution
for our wrongdoing. But the accurate
definition of that word is “discipline, training.” How different! The purpose is just the opposite – not
punishing, but perfecting. God assuring
us that the things which come into our lives and the things which He sends will
be used by Him to exercise us—to make us fit for the tasks and trails of life.
Chastisement is not a word
that makes me feel encouraged in my Christian walk, but “discipline, training”
makes me feel a lot better.
Is it ever easy to
experience pain and suffering in our lives?
No, it is very hard.
Hindsight can be 20/20
vision. Looking back on this past year I
can see how the challenging times I have been through have “grown me”. It has been a process.
In the beginning, I felt
wounded and somewhat angry for the suffering that was occurring in my
life. It was honestly hard to keep
believing that what I was going through was for my good. I actually felt mad at God. I did not like those feelings, but they were
there. I felt like a spoiled child. I could not pull together the strength to
cope, so as a result I shed many tears.
I knew God was always there
and as I read my Bible, he would encourage me with verses like Isaiah 41:10, 1
Thessalonians 5:24, Colossians 4:2, Isaiah 57:10 and on and on.
Nothing changed UNTIL I
finally gave it all to God. It was my turning point and I knew it. After surrendering my pain to God, I truly began
to experience “peace in the storm”. Slowly my “discipline, training” was
developing in my life.
Even though the life
challenge is still there, I am different, changed, and experiencing God’s
strength. I have peace like a river in
my life.
Thank you Jesus!
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