Rev. Don Campbell
Psalms 5, 38, 41-42
THOUGHT FOR TODAY, May 20, 2019
“DISCIPLINE IS NOT PLEASANT”
David knew firsthand the truth of Hebrews 12:11: “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”
In Psalm 5:1-2, David cries out, “Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my groaning. give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you I pray.” In Psalm 38:1-8, he acknowledged that God was disciplining him:
O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath!
For your arrows have sunk into me,
and your hand has come down on me.
There is no soundness in my flesh
because of your indignation;
there is no health in my bones
because of my sin.
For my iniquities have gone over my head;
like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.
My wounds stink and fester
because of my foolishness,
I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;
all the day I go about mourning.
For my sides are filled with burning,
and there is no soundness in my flesh.
I am feeble and crushed;
I groan because of the tumult of my heart.
In Psalm 41:6-7, David’s comforters, like those who came to comfort Job, only added more weight to his groanings: “They visit me as if they were my friends, but all the while they gather gossip, and when they leave, they spread it everywhere. All who hate me whisper about me, imagining the worst.” David’s enemies taunted him, “Where is your God?” (42:10).
David was down, but not out. He asked himself, “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?” (42:10). David found peace within: “Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation my God” (v.11).
CONNECTIONS
1. Often the pain in our lives is of our own doing, as was David’s. If God shielded us from the painful consequence of our sins, would we ever learn from them”
2. Suffering is sometimes from Satan (Luke 13:16). At other times, our sufferings simply mean that we are human and subject to all the frailties of humanity. All sufferings provide an opportunity for introspection and spiritual growth. It is right to pray for relief from suffering, but what did the Lord say to Paul that is true regardless of the source and nature of our sufferings? (2 Corinthians 12:9).
