Friday Week 3

Today, we will look at a third reason God's Way is by desert. First, let's look at the passage again:

"Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live by bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you." Deuteronomy 8:2-5

The word in the NIV is "discipline." When I think of discipline I think punishment. But here it is qualified. The passage says: "as a man disciplines his son." Now, I have a personal knowledge of this kind of discipline. This kind is more in lines with training. My Dad helped me to become a man. He showed me. He challenged me. He threw me in the fire a time or two. In the same way, I am now training my son.

Here is another way to look at it: Yesterday, I mentioned that my feet didn't swell on the 80 mile hike. The reason is because I happen to be training for a marathon. I have been disciplining my feet. They could take the pounding because I have pounded them already. God does the same kind of training with us.

For what it's worth, God is preparing you right now for something. I don't know what it is. You might not know what it is. But it's coming. It might be soon; it might be in 40 years. It might be in the life to come. But it's coming. And it matters to God that you are ready for it.

What kind of exercises is God using to train you up?