Proverbs. 3:12 For the LORD disciplines the one he loves, just as a father disciplines the son in whom he delights.
Genesis 28:11 “He reached a certain place and spent the night there because the sun had set. He took one of the stones from the place, put it there at his head, and lay down in that place. Jacob had come to a place where the sun had set upon his life as he knew it. Jacob was about to learn some hard and humbling lessons in life, and like many of us who learn the hard way – Jacob found it rough. Eccl. 2:17 Therefore, I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
From this time on, Jacob had to learn how to develop a relationship with God on God’s terms. The many struggles that he came up against caused him to finally arrive at a place in his life where he called upon God to bless him, no matter what it cost him. After wrestling with God, the sun finally came up upon Jacob’s life. Gen. 32:20 Jacob then named the place Peniel, “For I have seen God face to face,” he said, “yet my life has been spared.” 21a Now the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over Penuel.
Until we have a personal relationship with God through Christ, the sun cannot rise upon our lives. Before the sun can rise upon us, we will have to embrace the love of our heavenly Father and accept the gift of salvation He has provided through Christ Jesus. We will also have to allow the Lord’s correction that will make the changes God wants manifesting in our lives. Prov. 3:12 For the LORD disciplines the one he loves, just as a father disciplines the son in whom he delights.
Our character and heart will be tested and put through the purifying fires of the Holy Spirit so that we come out as gold and able to be used by God. Prov. 17:3 Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but the LORD tests the heart. Our past may have demonstrated a dark sunset that was laid out before us, but in Christ, we have a bright sunrise ahead of us. The Lord has conquered darkness for us. We only have to walk in the light that Jesus has brought us into.
When the word of God becomes our guiding light, we will be able to see what God has purposed for our lives. Psalm 119:45 I will walk freely in an open place because I study your precepts. When Jesus becomes our Lord, the light of His righteousness will guide us. John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
Jesus came so that we could come out of darkness and be healed of all the corrupt sickness dwelling within our lives. Mark 1:32 When evening came, after the sun had set, they brought to Him all those who were sick and demon-possessed. So many of the ailing sick who came to Jesus had been living lives that the sun had set upon for many years. The religious traditions of the day could not take the darkness away. Once Jesus showed up on any scene, the darkness was destroyed by the light of His perfect radiance. How beautiful the image of Jesus – the light of the world!
We who are in Christ have been given the Lord’s illumination on eternity so that we no longer have to let the sun go down upon our lives. Matt. 5:14a You are the light of the world. In Christ, we are the light of the world, and through the finished work of the cross, we can bring the brightest sunrises into people’s lives because of what Jesus had done through His sacrifice. Let us keep our hearts in the place where God’s Son is always shining through our lives. Amen!
Norm! I am encouraged by you passion to show people how to live God's way. It is so vital for people to be taught bible truth.
Blessings Ian
Where can we go? The Lord is the word of life.
How true Don. Only the cross, and the finished work of Jesus. Good word.
It was at the cross where Jesus won our victory over sin and death, All we have in this life was received by grace as a result of the cross.
As you reflect on your life, ask yourself the question, "Where would I be now if Jesus never saved me". Think about it.
Why would any Christian leave their "First Love" of being born again, try anything other than returning to the cross (the finished work of Christ) where all blessings and victory flow?
Gal 3:3
Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?