July 20, 2019 - Suggested Reading Hebrews 12 for July 21st message on Amos 1 thru 3:2 in our worship service at 10:00AM

“Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?”

Hebrews 12:7 (NIV) 

I need great faith to receive the truth of this text, in light of the many hardships that I see the children of God who attend Parkdale experiencing. 

Notice first of all what the verse is NOT saying - it is NOT saying that all hardships are discipline. The verse is saying that we should treat all hardship as discipline.

It seems to me that most of us understand that discipline is hardship with a purpose. When I was a child my rear end experienced hardship when ever my father decided I needed a change in my behaviour or attitude. Hardship without purpose is punishment, but hardship with a purpose is discipline.

Verse 4 tells us that we are in a struggle against sin, and that because we are in this struggle with sin we should expect hardship. Verse 7 tells us that we should endure all hardships as if they have been given to us by God to change our attitude or behaviour for the good. Verse 10 tells that we should submit in our hardship to our Father who loves us, for He desires us to share in His holiness, and He will use this hardship to accomplish this purpose.

We are to struggle against sin …

We are to endure hardship as if…

We are to submit to our Father in our hardship…

We are to strengthen our …

We are to repair our paths …

Overall we are to fix our eyes on Jesus who endured hardship and received His reward.

This passage is very important in my own spiritual life- hardship is proof of God’s love for me! It seems counter intuitive but it is the gospel truth. I can’t count the number of times things have happened in my life that I thought were terrible, and they turned out to be good. How many times have things happened I thought were good that turned out to be bad? Better for me to trust the God who is above all the things that happen to me, who loves me with an unfailing love, then to weep and wail about what is happening- which is my natural inclination.