21 Trinity – Saturday
This weeks devotions: Sunday – Monday – Tuesday – Wednesday – Thursday – Friday
Daily Devotional Materials
Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity
– Saturday –
Devotion*
My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord, neither be weary of His correction; for whom the Lord loveth He correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.- Proverbs 3:11-12
Are you a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ? Then every grief that befalls you, every pain of body or soul, every sorrow, great and small, every tribulation, everything that may annoy you, every anguish, every need, want, or hardship – it is all a kind, loving, and fatherly chastening and correction God gives you for your soul’s welfare in time and for eternity. There is no such thing as chance; everything is under God’s direction. Or did others cause your trouble, or did you bring it upon yourself? That may be the immediate cause, but this, too, is under God’s direction. Or is your trouble to be looked upon as a just punishment of an angry God? Impossible! Christ has suffered that for you. The Prophet Isaiah assures you again and again that “the Lord hath laid on Him [the Messiah, Christ Jesus] the iniquity of us all” (53:6b). In II Corinthians 5, the Apostle Paul also assures you that God “hath made Him [Christ Jesus] to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him [in Christ]” (v. 21). And God loves you, His dear child, in Christ Jesus and in what that Savior and Substitute paid to God in your behalf and in behalf of the whole world, so that God has declared you fully pardoned for all of your sins, completely justified in His sight, and totally righteous before Him. No, it is all, without exception, a kind, loving, and fatherly chastening and correction which God wants you to experience for your good, for your spiritual betterment. Therefore, my child, “despise not thou the chastening of the Lord” (Hebrews 12:5b); do not murmur against such kind, loving, and fatherly chastening and correction; do not reject them. For – mark well! – “whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth” (Hebrews 12:6a). He corrects, even as a father the son in whom he delights. Indeed, you may weep and pray and cry: ‘Spare me, O Lord!’ But, at the same time, trust in Him, and kiss the loving hand that smites you; nor inquire after the “Why?” and the “Wherefore?” in each case. Remember: “We know that all things [by God’s grace in Christ] work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). “O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good [in Christ Jesus]” (Psalm 118:1).
PRAYER – My dear heavenly Father, I thank Thee that I may rest assured that every grief that comes into my life is under Thy direction and is a kind, fatherly chastening for my good, for my soul’s welfare. Amen.
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