The Peril of Unbelief
“Take care, brothers, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today”, so that none of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end…” (Hebrews 3:12-14).
O Lord, we confess, we are prone to wander, we are prone to be blinded by suffering. And if we are honest, taking up our cross daily feels more than what our shoulders could possibly bear. But Lord, who else do we have in Heaven but You? Where else would we run to but to You? What other love is as transforming as Yours, o King of kings? What gives us breath, day after day, moment by moment? Lord, we know, we know from the depth of our hearts that everything comes from You. Open the eyes of our hearts yet again, we pray to You; help us see the glory of being chastised by You, in the precious name of Jesus’ name, I pray amen!
When you feel like you have been handed more than you can bear, as you daily follow after Jesus Christ, what thoughts occupy your mind? If you are anything like me or the men and the women of the Word, we are tempted to think that the Lord has perhaps forgotten about us? Of course, our minds and hearts know for sure that as God’s children we are ever in His care; but somehow the suffering and pain make us forget. Isn’t that why the Bible encourages us to exhort one another day after day? Not weekly but each day! Do we really agree with the Bible when it tells us that we should “keep watching and praying that we may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41)? Father, we desire to take this warning to heart. We do not want to be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. So, help us Lord, help us for You are more than able!
Suffering, pain, chastising from the Lord are solely meant to make us precious into His sight. God doesn’t let us walk through pain because He has forgotten us; Can you please hold on to the truth that He lets us walk in seasons of pain precisely because we are His? Here is the proof: “… “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when are reproved by Him; for those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives.” It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline” (Hebrews 12:5-7)?
Did you see that last verse? If we are in Christ, it is a fact that God will discipline us because He is dealing with us as His children. Is there any greater privilege and will there ever be any greater privilege than belonging to God? O heart of mine, rest in the perfect love of your Heavenly Father. O fellow pilgrims, let us rest in our Father’s arms for He cares for us more than our minds could ever comprehend.
Furthermore, as we live in Christ, our suffering is producing for us an eternal glory. What a God we serve friends, truly, truly, truly, what a God we serve. “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,…” (2 Corinthians 4:17).
Beloved, do you see now? These light afflictions we walk through are molding us into precious jewels of Jesus Christ. Follow Him closely, and before you know it, you will catch a glimpse of yourself sparkling and brightly reflecting His light. Can’t you see your fellow pilgrims sparkling too? Look closely and you will see.
I pray that the below devotional entry for today, October 29, from the book Streams In The Desert, blesses your heart and your mind mightily. I pray that it solidifies in you the truth that our afflictions are the primary means the Lord uses to makes us perfect in Him.
“He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver” (Malachi 3:3).
Our Father, who seeks to perfect His saints in Holiness, knows the value of the refiner’s fire. It is with the most precious metals that a metallurgist will take the greatest care. He subjects the metal to a hot fire, for only the refiner’s fire will melt the metal, release the dross, and allow the remaining, pure metal to take a new and perfect shape in the mold.
A good refiner never leaves the crucible but, as the above verse indicates, “will sit” down by it so the fire will not become one degree too hot and possibly harm the metal. And as soon as he skims the last bit of dross from the surface and sees his face reflected in the pure metal, he extinguishes the fire. Arthur Tappan Pierson
He sat by a fire of sevenfold heat,
As He looked at the precious ore,
And closer He bent with a searching gaze
As He heated it more and more.
He knew He had ore that could stand the test,
And He wanted the finest gold
to mold as a crown for the King to wear,
Set with gems with a price untold.
So He laid our gold in the burning fire,
Though we would have asked for delay,
And He watched the dross that we had not seen,
And it melted and passed away.
And the gold grew brighter and yet more bright,
but our eyes were dim with tears,
We saw but the fire- not the Master’s hand,
And questioned with anxious hearts.
Yet our gold shone out with a richer glow,
as it mirrored a Form Above,
That bent over the fire, though unseen by us,
with a look of unspeakable love.
Should we think that it pleases His loving
heart to cause us a moment’s pain?
Not so! For He saw through the present cross
the joy of eternal gain.
So He waited there with a watchful eye,
with a love that is strong and sure,
And His gold did not suffer a bit more heat,
than was needed to make it pure.