Imagine if Christians went around encouraging fellow brothers and sisters, “Keep the faith... God is coming with ‘muscle’, ‘boy’ is he angry and He is going fix this ‘good’!”Bible Reference - Hebrews 12 & Isaiah 35
Hebrews 12:12 “Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. ‘Make level paths for your feet so that the lame may not be disabled but rather healed.”
The first subtitle of Hebrews 12 in the NIV is “God Disciplines His Sons.” Verse 7 begins with the phrase “Endure hardship as discipline...”. A natural-born cynic, I read this phrase with verse 12 and bitterly felt, “God is an abusive father. The difficulties you are enduring and have endured are cruel discipline but good for you so buck up. You don’t have to be destroyed if you toughen up.”
This cannot be true however if we assent to God being a God of love and compassion so I decided to look up the verse the author of Hebrews is quoting in verse 12. I loved what I found and was, quite frankly, surprised.
Isaiah 35:3 begins with, “Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way...”.
So... how does it continue? HOW do we strengthen our feeble hands and HOW to we steady our knees? How do we gain the strength and ability to “buck-up” and endure?
Isaiah 3:4 continues with the answer, “... say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.’
Reflection -
I love the fact that God does not want us to “bury-it-all-down-deep-inside” nor does he want us to “rise-up-by-our-bootstraps”. He does not want us to ignore our exacerbation or our desire for justice. He does not ask us to rid ourselves of righteous anger. Instead, he reminds us that we can take courage... GOD will ultimately right these wrongs. We strengthen ourselves and steady ourselves under the eternal perspective of the LORD’S “vengeance” and “retribution”. What powerful words! And, I believe it is because it takes incredible power, outside of ourselves, working with intensity to give us the vindication that allows us move forward when justice at a current moment be delayed. We must remember and be encouraged that though justice is delayed, God will intensely deal with it. The delay does not lower His outrage and determination to set things right.
Many times in this life we experience (or are ourselves) people who delay engaging conflict and then “forget about it”. A parent may be watching television and not intervene in sibling rivalry. A teacher may be distracted and not prevent cheating or bullying. These examples may lead us to feel God is distracted, preoccupied or indifferent. No!
God cares! He delays but his delay is purposeful. His anger is righteous and therefore is not “watered-down” by time. When he acts on our behalf, it will be strong and sure.
I smile at the this thought: Imagine if Christians went around telling discouraged ones to be encouraged and keep the faith because God is coming with “muscle”, “boy, is he angry” (“vengeance”), and he is going to “kick some butt and take names” (“divine retribution”). It would probably horrify many a christian with certain definitions of the word “forgiveness”. But clearly, this is appropriate. Forgiveness and the choice to not exact justice ourselves is only possible when we realize that it WILL still be done.
One important note is the resulting feelings:
- 35:6b “... the mute tongue [will] shout for joy.”
- 35:10a “... the ransomed of the Lord will return. They will enter Zion with singing...”
- 35:10c “Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.”
Notice how the knowledge that God will act should not cause us to sit and bitterly await his judgement. This fact should ease our anger not be an excuse to inflame it. This passage is not meant to excuse our rage but allow us to move forward in our calling before the Lord in full awareness that things we are unable to change will be corrected. We can rest knowing we are responsible for our actions and attitudes alone. Though conclusions and judgements are not in our control, they are in control by a God who is righteous (“divine”) and powerful (“he will come to save”).
Prayer -
Lord, thank you that you care. Thank you that you are bothered to the point of action. Though you ask us to “endure hardship”, it is not from cruelty or lack of knowledge, concern, or motivation on your part. You WILL right things. And even now, the delay is strategic in our lives as well.
Thank you for acknowledging our pain in the matter (“no discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful”). Your training is one that is pushing us to holiness and closeness with you without breaking us. A good trainer knows how far to push ... for skills to be built, they must push a person farther than they have gone before. A wise trainer must be fully aware of the current condition of their trainee so as not to break, tear, destroy, or undermine their ultimate goal. Your Lord, know our current state. You know that your delay causes pain. You are our trainer Lord. You are also our physical therapist. Wrap us. Brace us. Mend us. Heal us. Further open our eyes to see your goodness and our calling. If anyone is especially weary right now Lord, please comfort them and give them momentary reprieve to rest and rejuvenate. Thank you for the many examples of times you have done this in the Bible. Help us to trust you. Help us to rest in your righteous, perfect, good and loving plan. Allow us to grow in trust of your plan so much that the timing that you have and we do not understand is bearable and even preferred.
Additional passages -
- Deut 32:35 “It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them.”
- Obadiah 1:15 “”The day of the Lord is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head.”
- Acts 17:31a “For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice..:
