Daily Devotional
Word of the Day
The Crucible of Chastisement
Pastor Scott
Thursday, June 17, 2004
Listen to this teaching | Related Teaching | Bible Teaching | 
Print
"And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering..."
(Genesis 22:2)
We've fabricated life's priorities in our own minds. In our mind, the priorities are peace, comfort, prosperity, and success; but in God's heart and mind, they are character, faithfulness, diligence, and humility. We need salve put upon our eyes to see whether we are doing the Word of God or not. What's the fruit? Not our intentions, not our doctrine, not the verses we quote--what are we doing with our lives? Do we respond to a lost world the way His Word demands? Do we respond to our husband, wife, and children to the degree that His Word demands? If not, He loves us and He'll put enough pressure on us to have to make that decision. If we continue to drag our feet, be hardhearted, and the gold is 10-carat instead of 24, we may have to experience a Mount Moriah where He puts His hand on the most precious thing we have so we can see our own heart. He's not willing for us to go to a devil's hell. He will put us in life circumstances that will open our eyes, causing us to choose to serve or reject Him, to love or to hate Him. We will not be allowed lukewarmness; we will be hot or we will be cold.
Where are you today? Do you look more like Him today than you did last year? He won't take the crumbs of your life--your leftover time and energy. All of God's trials are not with adversity. Many of the trials are prosperity, ease, and comfort. The greatest detriment to Laodicea and Sodom was their idleness, ease, and wealth. They said, "I'm rich and have need of nothing. I'm doing well. I'm healthy; I'm wealthy; I'm happy. There's no eternal fruit, but God's obviously blessing me. Look at all of this stuff." You're blind and you're naked, you wretched thing! God proved you with that false doctrine that gain is godliness. Gain is not godliness; godliness is godliness.
Where are your treasures? What are your pursuits? Are you panting after God as the hart does the brook? Can you say with the apostle that everything else is dung that you might win Christ? If you say, "I used to be that way, but I'm not now," then God will try you and perfect you in the crucible of chastisement, trials, and temptations. He rebukes those that He loves. This rebuke of the Lord is the beginning of chastisement. If your heart will be smitten with the Word of God, if you are broken and repent, then you are free. If not, then there's more to come because He will not let you go to a devil's hell without extending His love to you. You may say, "I'm actually doing pretty good when compared with everybody else." That's not the issue. Have you bought from Him gold tried in the fire? You may be shining, but you're not pure. Let's let Him clean your life today.
Thank Him for what He's doing in our lives, and rejoice in His goodness. Thank Him for the mercy of God that has brought us where we are, and for His faithfulness that will finish the course. Revelation says it is He that is faithful and true that has called us. Lord, we thank You that You will continue to work in us. We thank You that You are ever the same--not only Your standards, but Your pursuit of us doesn't change. Your love for us is immutable. You never give up on us. You don't quit. Lord, help us to be faithful. Be formed in us that You might be glorified in us. We ask it, Father, in Jesus' name. Amen.