To Encourage You

Hebrews 12:3-6 “Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? ‘My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord nor be weary when reproved by him.  For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.’”

Have you ever asked yourself the following question: “Why is this happening to me?” Usually that question is asked with an air of frustration, for it’s a question that most often arises when it’s a bad thing that’s happening in our lives (Which begs the question, how often do we ask, “Why is this undeserved good thing happening to me?). In any event, we should never lose sight of one of the most wonderful truths of God’s Word which is recorded for us in Romans 8:28: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” This verse points to the fact that God is absolutely sovereign.  He is in control of all things, even those things that seem to be horrible in our view.  As the ultimate example of this, the verses above from Hebrews 12 point us to the sinless Son of God.  Here we have the only person that ever lived without any hint of sin in His life. Whereas the Law of God states so clearly that “the wages of sin is death,” here was One who died at the hands of wicked men.  How could anything good come from this?! Why in the world would we call the anniversary of Jesus’ murder “Good Friday?”  Well, if we know God’s Word, we know that the answer is that it was by Jesus’ substitutionary death for our sin that we can be saved from the penalty of the second death that we all deserve, and instead possess the wonderful gracious gift of eternal life.  

But the passage above points us not just to God’s sovereign hand in the unjust suffering that Jesus endured.  It also points to any such suffering that might touch our lives.  It talks about our struggle against sin, and points to the fact that that struggle often comes at the hands of “evil men.”  

In John 15 we have Jesus’ teaching about this. Here He says, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.”  

But note that God is not just telling us to expect mistreatment as we strive to live a righteous life and take a stand for righteousness in this world.  We’re not to just resign ourselves to a “whatever will be, will be” attitude about such things. No, as Hebrews 12 tells us, whenever we are being dealt a blow by a godless world, we should recognize that it is actually “the discipline of the Lord” that we are experiencing.  It is one of the ways that God disciplines us as His beloved children.  We know from God’s Word that it is through people that God so often works in our lives. 

One example of this is the following passage from 2 Corinthians 1:3-4: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”  We see here that the comfort and encouragement we receive from other believers is actually God’s comfort flowing to us in and through their lives.  But while it may be understandable that God would touch our lives through other Christians, do we realize that He is also at work in our lives through unbelievers, including those who may hate us and hate everything we stand for. That’s what He’s telling us in Hebrews 12. He is sovereign. He is in control. And it is often through the actions of unbelievers against us that He is teaching us things and preparing us for service to Him in ways that would not otherwise be possible.  He’s the great Shepherd Who always keeps watch over His sheep. Nothing will touch the lives of those the Lord died for that is not ultimately meant for their good and perhaps the good of others whom their lives touch. 

Something to remember today as you face a difficult boss, belligerent employee, wayward child, a godless governmental authority, or any other painful relationship in life.