Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":
What does the Bible means when it says, “Whom the Lord loves, He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives” (Heb. 12:6)? If you truly believe in Jesus, must you awaken every morning to a new scourging?
The author of Psalm 73 thought so, and the Lord saw fit to include his cry in the Bible: “Is it for nothing ... that I have kept myself pure and have not committed sin? O God, You have made me suffer all day long: every morning You have punished me” (vss. 13, 14, GNB). And it’s pathetic how David cried out, “Don’t punish me any more. ... I am about to die from Your blows. You punish a man’s sins by your rebukes. ... Leave me alone so that I may have some happiness ...” (Psalm 39:10-13, GNB). Do you feel that way?
All the psalms that pour forth such frank honesty end in a joyous note of triumph, but there is one exception: Psalm 88 is unrelieved disappointment throughout. It expresses the total despair that Christ experienced when He cried out on His cross, “My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
When you think of these things, back in your mind is that reassurance, “Whom the Lord loves, He chastens ...” and you are comforted. As you kneel before Him in personal, private prayer (shut in with the Lord intimately), you are reminded always that the Lord honors you as His “child”; that’s why He “chastens” you. He considers you somebody important in His vast plan of redemption for a lost world. It’s part of His process of inviting you to “sit with [Him] on His throne”(Rev. 3:21) and share with Him executive authority in bringing to a close the great cosmic controversy with Satan. No one is worthy of such a high position, no one could function in that capacity who has not endured the Lord’s severest discipline. You don’t earn a PhD without serious testing.
And you can’t say, “Lord, I don’t want the discipline; just let me be saved without it; I’ll ride on a third class ticket, just so I can squeak through the pearly gate somehow.” No; if the Lord invites you to be one of the “144,000” you cannot decline, asking for a lesser responsible honor. That is contrary to the basic principles of the gospel (cf. 2 Cor. 5:14, 15).
Then there is Psalm 94 with its assurance of Good News in the Lord’s discipline: “Blessed [happy] is the man [or woman] whom Thou chasteneth, O LORD, and teachest him out of Thy law; that Thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, ... for the Lord will not cast off His people, neither will He forsake His inheritance” (vss. 1-14, KJV). And in His nadir of despair on His cross, the Lord Jesus “overcame” and died in glorious victory (cf. Psalm 22:21-31).
Whatever you do, don’t despise “fellowship with Christ in His sufferings” (Phil. 3:10; 1 Peter 4:13). You don’t want to miss the greatest joy any human can ever know!
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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