I was just reading the passage of Hebrews 12. I began to think of how we're so quick to pick out certain verses and some of them would be:
[12]Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;
[13]And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.
As I began to look at the context of it I remembered how my counselor said the other week how that sometimes God takes us through hard parts of our lives. The verses that come before the verses we often pick out are:
[5]And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
[6]For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
[7]If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
[8]But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
[9]Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
[10]For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
[11]Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
I have always been terrified of punishment of any capacity and thinking of it coming from God made it all the more terrifying. But one day I didn't put God first in something and remorse flooded my soul. I didn't understand till someone explained to me that God wants to be first in our lives and He will chastening us if we don't. After that I don't fear punishment as bad because it was done in love and it was new to me because I don't ever remember being punished in love as a child. It did change my perspective on these verses and I think has given me an even better respect for God because I'm beginning to understand how much He loves me. But as I began looking at these verses and the verses after 12-14 it says:
[15] Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;
[16]Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
[17]For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.
There are painful things that happen in our lives and if we don't deal with them and allow healing we will become bitter and hardened people. If we have been abused we will become the perpetrators. Hurt people hurt people. Sometimes it takes professional help like a counselor who is trained to help people process and walk through the pain. God needs to be involved first and foremost because He's the ultimate Healer.
From what I've observed, that as we go through and deal with the painful places in our lives whether alone with God or with professional help, our hands will be lifted up and our knees will become less feeble. Our paths will become straight and that which is lame will be healed. Bitterness will find no root in our hearts and we will not repeat the cycle of abuse we may have endured. Our God is a consuming fire. A fire that burns out bitterness and hate. A fire that binds up wounds and bring healing. A fire that lights our soul with hope and gives us peace and fills us with compassion for those suffering around us. As we go through the fire of pain we will be refined and changed in a good way... don't know how well this makes sense. Just trying to put my thoughts into words. I think it's just so amazing how God works redemptively in our lives when we allow Him to that I wanted to share this. Perhaps it will help someone...