"The Promise of Pain"
Isaiah 48:10 "I have made you pure, but not by fire, as silver is made pure. I have purified you by giving you troubles."
Isaiah 48:10 "I have made you pure, but not by fire, as silver is made pure. I have purified you by giving you troubles."
The doctor has discovered you have a serious heart defect. Without surgery, you'll need oxygen for the rest of your life, you won't be able to work or have kids, and you'll die within a few years. If you opt for surgery, it'll be a very painful recovery, but you'll get to lead a healthy, normal life. Would the doctor's promise of pain make you hesitate to go through with the surgery, knowing the lifesaving benefits?
Your spiritual heart was born with many defects-sin, weakness, and character flaws. The greatest surgeon has determined that to get rid of your heart defects, you have to undergo spiritual surgery. Being cut away from sin is painful at first, but it's absolutely necessary if you want to become like Jesus and live out a radically changed, healthy Christian Life!
Nobody wants to face painful surgery, but God is a very skilled and gentle surgeon. He gives you the anesthetic of His love and peace to help you through, and he'll only cut away as much as necessary to take care of the problem. He'll never put you through needless suffering.
God loves you just the way you are, but he loves you far too much to let you stay sick at heart. He wants to make you better so you can have an awesome life with a promising future. And just like Isaiah 66:9 says, God will never bring pain without the promise of new hope being born into your life.
Your spiritual heart was born with many defects-sin, weakness, and character flaws. The greatest surgeon has determined that to get rid of your heart defects, you have to undergo spiritual surgery. Being cut away from sin is painful at first, but it's absolutely necessary if you want to become like Jesus and live out a radically changed, healthy Christian Life!
Nobody wants to face painful surgery, but God is a very skilled and gentle surgeon. He gives you the anesthetic of His love and peace to help you through, and he'll only cut away as much as necessary to take care of the problem. He'll never put you through needless suffering.
God loves you just the way you are, but he loves you far too much to let you stay sick at heart. He wants to make you better so you can have an awesome life with a promising future. And just like Isaiah 66:9 says, God will never bring pain without the promise of new hope being born into your life.
