No Chastening Seems Joyous

HEBREWS 12:11
“Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”
If we live according to sight, not walking by faith, we will wrongly interpret God’s dealings with us. We will not understand why afflictions and persecutions come into our lives. If we live according to the senses, we estimate things by their present effect on us. We do not look beyond the present. We see outward effects only.
We must trust God’s Word, and we will find concerning His loving chastisements that He says, “No chastening for the present seemeth joyous but grievous.” This truth is solid ground to stand upon when we are chastened by His Hand. If we do not put our confidence in His Word, we are likely to conclude that He has little concern or regard for us. Faith is the remedy for this wrong conclusion. Faith looks to God’s promises, looking beyond present distress to a glorious promise of victory. We, in faith, do not look at a trial as a disconnected piece, but as a part of the whole purpose of God’s conforming us into the image of His Son.
Someone has illustrated it this way; “The bucket goes down into the well deeper that it might come up fuller.” This is an old illustration from a different era, but one can readily see how it applies to this truth. Faith gets honey from wormwood.
Divine providence has two faces. One face is the hard face of difficulty, the other the tender look of mercy. Faith endures the former and looks beyond it to the latter. This supernatural confidence brings joy amid affliction and peace in the time of storm.
In His Wonderful Name,
Pastor Ed Bowen