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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young. Let
him sit alone in silence, for the Lord has laid it on him. Let him bury his
face in the dust—there may yet be hope. Let him offer his cheek to one who
would strike him, and let him be filled with disgrace.
Lamentations 3:27-30
This ends today’s
reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Today, we come to the final devotion in this series from
Lamentations 3 where we have received direction on things that are good for us
to do in reference to our relationship with the Lord. We’ve found that it’s
good to put our hope in the Lord, to seek Him in all things, and to wait
patiently to receive His salvation.
In today’s message, we find God’s word providing pointed
direction to those who are in their youth. Look at these words again here:
It is good for a man
to bear the yoke while he is young. Let him sit alone in silence, for the Lord
has laid it on him. Let him bury his face in the dust—there may yet be hope. Let
him offer his cheek to one who would strike him, and let him be filled with
disgrace. Lamentations
3:27-30
These verses, drawn from the NIV translation, lay the
groundwork for understanding what God is trying to say but we need to add a
little more to this in order to get a glimpse at the full picture. Consider
this translation from the New Living Translation:
It is good for people
to submit at an early age to the yoke of His discipline. Lamentations 3:27 NLT
Now we have what we need to look at this passage properly
because at the heart of it is the matter of God’s discipline. Here’s what we
need to take away from it:
1. The Lord’s discipline is going to come to us in life.
Note that there is nothing to suggest we will ever be immune
from God’s correction. Rather, we can see that it will come and the scriptures
recommend that the earlier in life this happens, the better. And that leads to
point 2.
2. The best case scenario for any person is that they experience
God’s discipline in their youth.
We all will go through God’s discipline in life. What the
scriptures are asserting is that it is good for us to receive and submit to the
Lord’s discipline at an early age.
Why?
Because the earlier we learn to live in a way that is free
from sin and in tune with the Lord’s righteousness, the earlier that we can
become the people He wants us to be, an obedient people fully committed to
carry out His purposes. God’s discipline can take us to that place.
3. The Lord’s discipline may be good but it’s not pleasant,
no matter when it comes.
When we were growing up, our parents disciplined us when we
broke the rules they set. Their intention was to teach us the difference
between right and wrong, shaping our behavior by showing that doing wrong
brings unpleasant consequences. The idea was for us to not ever want to suffer
through the penalties imposed for our wrongs again. We were to learn from our
mistakes and not repeat them. It was the intent of our parents when they
disciplined and it’s the same intent of our Heavenly Father when He corrects.
4. Part of effective discipline is for the one being
corrected to take accountability for their actions.
There’s usually two ways you can go when you’re being
disciplined.
First, you can rail against it and the one who is imposing
it, presenting a protest of injustice in the midst of the discipline. This
attitude refuses to acknowledge that the victim of discipline is really the
problem and asked for every ounce of the correction they were receiving. And unfortunately,
when this happens, the discipline fails to be effective and accomplish its end
means as the first step in a person changing for the better is for the person
to admit that they need to change.
The other way a person can go is to take accountability for
their wrongs and receive the Lord’s discipline without protest. This is what
the scriptures are suggesting in the closing verses of our passage:
Let him sit alone in
silence, for the Lord has laid it on him. Let him bury his face in the dust—there
may yet be hope. Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him, and let
him be filled with disgrace.
For a youth who is to submit to experiencing the Lord’s
correction is to do so in silence, not protesting or complaining. They are to
repent and show the Lord a heartfelt commitment to turn away from their sins.
They are to not reject the discipline, no matter what way it comes, and they’re
to allow feelings of disgrace to take root within them. Shame is not
necessarily a bad thing when we feel ashamed for how we have sinned against God.
It actually inclines out heart to where it should be when we fail to be
obedient to the Lord who demands obedience from all His people.
Yes, discipline will come on all of us at some time or
another. God’s word encourages us to embrace it as early as possible so we may
allow the Lord to mold us into being the followers and servants we need to be.
Amen
In Christ,
Mark
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