“ Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth : therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: ” Job 5:17

Be honest–that doesn’t sound right does it? It seems strange that happiness could come from hardships and heartaches. Pain isn’t pleasing–“no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous“(Heb. 12:11). Everyone agrees with that, but when we read on we see that our troubles should make us better rather than bitter. The last half of Heb. 12:11 explains how hardships can bring happiness–“never the less afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby”. The afflicted person might not be happy at the time, but he will be happy in time–“afterward“. Hardships produce holiness which leads to happiness!

Our problem is that we are usually too short-sighted, which explains why we’re not so good at delayed gratification. We are like children before Christmas, not wanting to wait until morning for their gifts. We’re like the kid who would rather have a dime now than a dollar later. We simply don’t know what’s good for us. One reason our text sounds so strange is a misunderstanding of the word “happy“.

 J. R. Miller wrote—He is not happy at the time! No one enjoys having troubles, sufferings, sorrows. Therefore this verse appears very strange to some people. They cannot understand it. It is contrary to all their thoughts of happiness. Of course, the word happy is not used here in the world’s sense. In the world’s estimation, “happiness is the pleasure that comes from the things that happen. It depends on personal comfort, on prosperous circumstances, on kindly and congenial conditions. When these are taken away the happiness is destroyed.”

Is it just me? Is it the wretched condition of the world? Or is it the struggles my loved ones are going through? I’m not sure–I suspect it is all three. Whatever the reason, every time I sit down to write it seems that my mind goes straight to the subject of hardships, difficulties, and suffering. It seems that I can’t help but think about the need for comfort, change, and courage, etc. and I want to help bring it about.

Sometimes I think, maybe I should refrain from dealing with this and move on to other subjects. But, it is hard to ignore such things when they touch so many that you love. Seeing their desperate needs I feel driven to do something. I realize that I don’t have all the answers and I can’t work miracles, but the greatness of their needs motivates me to do what I can–although it never seems enough. There is only so much that I or anyone else can do. Other than pray, which is no small matter, all I can do is show love and share information– the truth of God’s Word. Only God can actually meet the needs, and His exceeding great and precious promises assures us that He can and will. We, however, must appropriate what He makes available. We should never assume that our needs will be supplied if we neglect the appointed means by which they come to us.

If I could say anything to those in need of encouragement it would be this. Regardless of how dark the night, how deep the valley, or how dismissal the outlook, Christ can help, and that is our hope! Change, of some sort, always comes to those who trust and obey the Word of God–if He doesn’t change your circumstances He changes you. If the Bible is true, and it is, there is no problem too great for God to solve. So, as you set sail on another day, I leave you with this thought. It is not always a matter of learning something new, sometimes all we need is a reminder of certain important truths. So I am reminding you that our hope is found in the fact that God has promised to be “our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble”.( Ps. 46:1). The nature of your need, the enormity of your enemy, or the characteristics of your challenge has absolutely nothing to do with God’s ability to meet your need. If you are a child of God in the will of God you have every reason to be hopeful. If your outlook is bleak, rather than bright, your focus is on the wrong thing. There are numerous reasons why this is so.

He who is love has set His affection on you.
He who knows His own is acquainted with all your ways.
He who never sleeps is aware of your situation.
He whose ear is always open is alert to your call.
He who has all power in heaven and earth is able to meet your need.
He whose grace is all sufficient is available anytime.
He who cannot lie has given us absolute assurance.
Knowing we serve such a gracious God should be enough to encourage us during the gravest trials, greatest temptations, and ghastliest troubles. He never fails!

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.”– Phi 2:5.

Faith is not simply an intellectual experience of a statement of fact, but it is our personal trust and confidence in Him of whom the fact is true. We are not saved merely because we believe that Jesus Christ died for us on the Cross, but because we trust in Him who died. It is the personal touch between Christ and ourselves that causes His life to pass into our nature, making us sound and healthy, as well as secure and safe.

What does the Cross mean to you and me? Does it not mean that there our Lord gave Himself absolutely to the Father’s will. Never in any way did He make Himself the origin and fountain of His action, but was ever the empty channel through which God poured Himself. “He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” It seemed as if He went down lower and lower, on rung after rung of the ladder until He reached Hades, giving up everything only to follow the Will of God; but out of the lowest depths God raised Him to the Eternal Throne.

In each one of us there is strong self-will. You say, “I am resolved to be a good man or woman, to live a noble life, to give up bad habits–I will” But it can never be accomplished in that way. It is only when we are willing to see ourselves, our own energy, our good self as well as our bad self brought to an end on the Cross of Jesus, that we shall be able to enter into and live His eternal life.

At this moment I would summon you to stand beneath the Cross and to see there One who entirely yielded up His own will. More than that, I want you to see your self-life nailed there, and turn from it to God in adoration, saying that you are prepared to be weak and helpless so far as your own energies are concerned, that He may put forth in your life the mighty energy of that power which raised Christ from the dead. It is only when we are weak that we are really strong; it is only when we surrender ourselves to the power of the Cross, so that we realize that we have been crucified with Christ, that we are able to share in His eternal victory over the devil and the power of evil.

O God, Thou hast revealed Thyself to us in Thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. We love Him, because He endured the Cross, and despised the shame in order to save us. May we follow Him by the way of the Cross, bearing His reproach, sharing His griefs, obedient even unto death, that we may also live and reign with Him here, and more perfectly at last. AMEN.—-F B Meyer

“I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

There is no rest for the Christian in the world. There will be always something to disturb, perplex or distress him; it is an enemy’s land. But Jesus says, “I will give you rest.” He does so by enabling us to rely on His word, recognise His hand, submit to His will, and trust in His perfect work. He assures us that our sins are forgiven us; that our persons are safe in His keeping; that His presence shall always be with us; and that all things shall work together for the best. We can rest on His faithfulness; He has been tried, and found faithful. We can rest on His love, for it knows not the shadow of a turn. We can rest on His power, it is ever engaged on our behalf. We can rest on His covenant, it is ordered in all things and sure. We can rest on His blood; it speaks peace, pardon, and acceptance with God. We can rest at His feet; there we are safe, and can never be injured. We cannot rest on our graces, on our comforts, on our friends, or on our possessions; but we may rest on Jesus. We should rest on Him with unshaken confidence.—James Smith

In the ark, the weary dove
Found a welcome resting place;
Thus my spirit longs to prove,
Rest in Christ, the Ark of grace.

“If sinners entice thee, consent thou not“– Proverbs 1:10

The flip side of pursuing wisdom is avoiding foolishness. Running toward God necessarily means hurrying away from selfish, short-sighted pursuits. We cannot genuinely pray for our heavenly Father to “deliver us from evil” if we are not striving to avoid personal temptations to sin.

There are different ways by which you may be enticed to sin. You may want to fit in or belong; you may be intimidated by a stronger personality; you may see some promise of personal advancement. Enticement can even come in the form of a well-meaning, but foolish, peer who offers counsel that is contrary to God’s Word.

‘If sinners entice you…’ Notice that we are not to be concerned with the pitfalls and shortcomings of others. What entices someone else to sin may not even be a temptation for you. But here is the vital principle: whatever sins do entice you, do not consent to them. It is not enough to console yourself with the fact that you have not committed the same sin to which someone else has fallen prey.

Regardless of the multi-faceted enticements to sin which you may encounter, here is the simple, straight-forward admonition — do not consent. Though others may entice you to sin, they cannot force you to sin. We can never say someone else “made me do it.” When you feel the tug of sin, do not consent to its alluring invitation.

Set your mind, by God’s grace and power, to say “No” to every one of Satan’s advances, and to consciously consent to the claims of Christ upon your life.(Baptist Bible Hour)