Growth

First Words

Being at the receiving end of God’s discipline isn’t a fun place to be.

While there may be some comfort in knowing that “the Lord disciplines those He loves” there is also the realization that God will go to great lengths in order to prompt His children towards repentance and living a life that is pleasing to Him. He desires holiness. In His graciousness, He has provided His Spirit to believers in order to equip them towards such a high calling.  His desire is for us to live in right relationship with Him because that is what He has created us to do. When we live otherwise, He often uses the painful consequences of those decisions to bring us back towards a right relationship with Him.

However, while we may recognize that God can do good through it, most of us don’t like discipline. Most of us would rather forgo the painful consequences, and when we experience them, we often rail against the God who is using them for our good. Yet, this wasn’t Zechariah’s response (See Lk. 1:5-25; 57-66 for the complete report). When Zechariah was told he would have a son, he questioned the veracity of that statement, and he was disciplined for his distrust. The fact that God made him mute may have made it difficult for him to complain, yet he responded to this discipline in two very important ways. First – he obeyed. The angel of God had told him what he was to name his son, and he did so accordingly. Secondly, his very first words were ones that praised God. He could have opened his mouth and talked about how good it was to speak again, or how difficult it was to endure the time of discipline. However, he chose neither of these things. His first words were ones of blessing. He responded to correction with thanksgiving and praise.

Perhaps we would be inclined to think this was easy. After all, Zechariah had months to think about his response and to get his heart right before God. However, if we couldn’t speak for months, would our first words be ones of thanks? When we undergo God’s discipline, is our first response to give Him praise?

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Being Content

Go in Peace

One of the beautiful things about Scripture is that there is always something to discover.  A story that you’ve heard many times can capture your heart as you read it once again. A passage informs your faith in new ways as you realize the depth of the words. God’s Word is living and active and therefore it’s impact on our life is too.

This happened to me when I read the familiar stories in Luke 8. For those unfamiliar to the passage, it is a recount of many of Jesus’ most famous miracles – the calming of the storm on the sea, the healing of the bleeding woman, and the raising of Jarius’ daughter from the dead. Interwoven amidst these stories, Jesus teaches the disciples about reaping and sowing, and the future account that everyone will give at the throne room of God. It’s a passage that’s chock full of richness. Yet, it was three little words that captured my attention – “Go in peace.”

These words are spoken by Jesus after He heals the woman who was bleeding. Yet several verses before, we see the disciples experiencing anything but peace. It fact the disciples are in a state of turmoil because their boat is rocking back and forth and the fear that they are soon going to be giving that account to their Maker. When Jesus responds to the disciples’ request to wake up, He admonishes them for their lack of faith. It can seem odd – a potentially capsizing boat sees like something worthy of concern – yet Jesus knows that in fearing death, the disciples exhibited a lack of faith. If they were trusting God for their eternity, they certainly could trust Him with the troubles of the moment.

Later in the passage, when the woman is healed and told to “go in peace” we realize that it is her faith that Jesus commends. In fact, her faith which prompts her healing, allows someone who has been marginalized for years, to walk away filled with divine contentment.

She’s filled with peace.

The disciples were filled with fear.

The difference – she had faith, they did not.

It’s not what we would expect. The disciples had been studying at Jesus’ feet; if anyone should have faith in Him, it would be the people who had a front-row seat to His instructions and His power. Yet they lacked it.  Instead it was a woman, who had been margingalized for years and was a societal outcast, who was the example of faith.  The disciples should have had peace – they were on the boat with the Creator of the World – yet it was the disregarded woman who was granted it. Why? Because it’s faith that brings God’s peace.

So if the storms of life are causing us to despair, maybe instead of asking God to take them away, we need to ask Him for the type of faith that touches just His hem, knowing that alone is enough to change our lives. Maybe we need to ask Him for the type of faith that produces peace.

 

Share your thoughts…how have you seen faith produce peace?

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