My husband started a new job this week. In order for him to get to his job, I have to take him to the train station so he can ride the train into downtown Dallas. It is a 30-40 minute drive for us & then another 30 minutes on the train. So every morning around 6:50 Scott & I leave, in the rain, for the drive in the traffic to to train station. It was a pain. I hate driving in the rain.
This morning we left & it was cloudy again, but it wasn't raining. On the way home after dropping Scott off, I was thinking about how glad I was that the rain was over. As I kept thinking about this, the Lord brought this verse to my mind.
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:11 (NIV)
When the Lord brings discipline to our lives, we rarely (if ever) say, "Oh good, I'm so glad you are disciplining me." Instead we are complaining because life is difficult or uncomfortable. We don't like pain, we don't like to hurt, we don't like to be stretched beyond our comfort level.
But as we mature in our faith & understanding of God & His ways, we are able to appreciate the discipline he brings because we know that it is producing in us a harvest of righteousness and peace. The verse before verse 11 says, "God disciplines us for good, that we may share in his holiness." (Hebrews 12:10) In order to share in HIS holiness, we must be disciplined to bring about what is good in us.
That rain we had for 3 days washed away the smog in the air, cleaned off our streets, brought fresh water to the lakes & ponds. We didn't like it raining for so long, but the end results were good.
I encourage you, the next time the Lord brings hardship & adversity into your life to embrace it as an opportunity to washed away and let His holiness be revealed in you. Don't fight it, don't argue or complain, recognize it for what it is...God working in your life, producing a harvest or righteousness.
