Follow the Right Path: Rejoice, Do Not Sulk

Even in the suffering of Christ on the cross, the Scriptures say there was a ‘joy’ that was set before Him because He was obeying God (Hebrews 12:2).  In Hebrews 12, we are told that God may chastise us because of our sins.  However, being disciplined by God is a proof that God loves us and wants to develop the character of godliness inside of us; therefore, the writer of Hebrews encourages us to “lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees” (verse 12) which, in our modern day English, means – stop being downtrodden and find the joy that comes about from God’s faithful discipline in our life.

Don’t fail God’s grace by letting bitterness rise up inside of you (verse 15).  Often time, believers follow after God, perform the right deeds, and pray exceedingly hard to be close with Him.  However, sin creeps in either purposefully or accidently; it takes us out of fellowship with Jesus.  In His loving kindness, God disciplines us through various means.  We realize we are guilty, we repent of our sins, and God closes the case and restores our fellowship with Him.  What is our response as human beings?  We are still sorry!  We berate ourselves, feel sorry for ourselves, and continue to beat ourselves with the guilt over our sins.  

Let’s not sulk!  Let’s rise back up in God’s forgiveness and go forward in the kingdom of God.  The Psalmist says it this way:  

“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance. (Psalm 42:5)”


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MP3 Download - 04.14.2013 - A Remembering Grace