No chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby – Hebrews 12:11

If you are suffering under some great trial right now, then hear these empathetic words: no trial feels good at the moment or seems to be a good thing.

If you thought the Bible teaches that you are supposed to feel good under God’s chastening hand, then you can now breathe a sigh of relief. God knows that your pain hurts; he does not, and you should not, expect it to feel good when affliction comes.

However, there is this great encouragement — although it does not feel good right now, your trial will have a good result, as you are “exercised” by it. This is an interesting choice of words, because “exercise” in the Greek is the same root from which we get our English word gymnasium.

If you go to any gymnasium today and observe the participants inside, you will see the same principle on display there of which the writer is here speaking — people going through pain and discipline and difficulty in order to obtain a worthwhile goal.

Gymnasts go through rigorous training in order to nail their floor exercises; bodybuilders endure repeated strain in order to chisel their muscles; even middle class moms and men put themselves through strenuous workouts in order to keep their heart healthy. Similarly, we are to understand, suffering is sent to build us up, to keep us healthy.
As we are weaned of this world by trials, and are made to look to God for our strength and fulfillment, we become stronger because of the difficulty we have faced. May your soul-exercise today bring you great rewards in your relationship with your God!–Baptist Bible Hour

” Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”– Romans 6:4

The best advertisement for Christianity is a Spirit filled Christian. The worst enemy of Christianity is a carnal Christian. As you have no doubt heard, “You are the only Bible some people will ever read”. God forbid that our manner of life give others the wrong impression of Christ. If you claim to be a Christian you should walk “in newness of life”. This is well stated in the following article from the pen of James Smith.

“All who profess Christ are supposed to possess a new nature; they are brought under new obligations; and are expected to keep new objects in view.

Being baptized into the death of Christ, and participating in His resurrection, they should walk as influenced by new principles; the free grace, holy truth, and divine power of God, should lead them to newness of life. They should walk by new rules, no longer following custom, or imitating the world; they should walk according to God’s word, the Saviour’s golden rule, and bright example.

The love of God, gratitude to God, and zeal for His glory, should be the motives from which they act; while to honour God, to enjoy His presence, to exalt Jesus, to benefit others, to prove the power and purity of their principles, to justify their profession, and to evidence their faith and love, should be the ends they have constantly in view.

A new life is expected from new creatures; and without it our religion is vain, and our profession a falsehood. Beloved, do we walk in newness of life?

Jesus, my life! Thyself apply,
Thy Holy Spirit breathe;
My vile affections crucify,
Conform me to Thy death,
Teach me to keep the heavenly path,
And conquer sin and hell by faith.”

“ Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory..” – Psalms 73:24

This supposes a knowledge of the Lord as infinitely gracious; inflexibly just; inconceivably wise; and immutably faithful: except we know Him we cannot trust Him.

But here is an entire surrender to Him, to be led where He pleases; as He chooses; and by whom He will. This surrender is becoming, prudent, gainful; for godliness with such contentment is great gain. Such a surrender is the effect of faith in the Lord’s promise, gracious presence, and covenant character; it exhibits expectation from the Lord.

Whom the Lord guides He protects; He preserves; He supplies; and receives. He receives them now at the throne of grace, to be His charge and His care; and He will receive them at the throne of His glory, and introduce them to holiness, happiness, and honour.

Beloved, have you thus surrendered? Are you daily surrendering? Can you say to your gracious God, “Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel, and afterwards receive me to glory?” If so, happy are ye; the Spirit of glory and of God will rest upon you.

Thy word, O Lord, is light and food,
The law of truth, and source of good.
Oh, let it richly dwell within,
To keep me from the snares of sin:
And guide me still to choose my way
That I no more may go astray.   — James Smith, 1840

“In the day of my trouble I will call upon Thee, for Thou wilt answer me.” – Psalms 86:7

Here we see David’s affliction, aim, and assurance; and if we do as he did we can pray with assurance that God will answer our prayer. Rest assured your day of trouble will come, sometimes day after day, and you find yourself in dire need of divine aid. Being able to pray with confidence gives us great peace amid grievous  problems. But how can we pray with such assurance ? The following  words from the pen of James Smith addresses this very subject:

“Let us inquire what is necessary, in order to the assurance that our God will answer us. We must really mean what we say when we pray. We must pray for a definite object. We must pray in accordance with the will of God, as revealed in His promises and precepts.

We must pray in submission to the will of God, as to the time when, and the means by which He will answer us. We must heartily desire what we pray for. Our motives must be pure, as that God may be glorified, sin subdued, and Jesus exalted. We must pray with importunity and perseverance. We must offer all our prayers in the name of Jesus, and expect them to be accepted and honoured only for His sake.

There must be no sin indulged; for if we indulge iniquity in our hearts, God will not hear our prayer. We must pray in faith, believing that God is, and that He is the rewarder of all them who diligently seek Him.

Lord, on me Thy Spirit pour,
Turn the stony heart to flesh:
And begin from this good hour,
To revive Thy work afresh:
Lord, revive me!
All my help must come from Thee.”

“ And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.”–Gen. 5:24

Enoch recognized the failure of men and women trying to live their lives apart from God and His will. By faith he walked with God on this earth at a time when sin and corruption were wildly rampant all around him. Enoch’s daily walk was a walk of faith, a walk of fellowship with God. What the Scriptures are trying to say to us is this: If Enoch could live and walk with God by faith in the midst of his sinful generation, we likewise should be able to follow his example because the human race is the same and God is the same!… There is only one conclusion to be drawn here. Enoch was translated into the presence of God because of his faith, and thus he escaped death. It is very evident that there was no funeral for Enoch. Those who knew him best surely had to answer many questions. “Where is Enoch?” “What happened to Enoch?” “Why don’t we see Enoch around anymore?” Perhaps members of his own family did not fully understand his walk with God, but they could answer with the facts: “He is gone! God has called him home. God has taken him.”–A W Tozer

Walking with God is our response to being pleased with God and results in us being well pleasing to God, and ends in being with God.