Today you should read: Ezra 2
A Time of Return, Rest, Restoration, and Rebuilding
Discipline… no one likes it.
In our passage today we see the end of the season of discipline that the Lord has brought Israel through. Because they had turned from His commands, the Lord disciplined them for their good… that they would return to Him.
This is the account of those who are returning. God’s people will rest from their captivity, be restored to their homeland, and rebuild God’s temple.
Today’s “Walk-a-Way”
I would assume this feels like someone just pulled them out of being underwater… and has shaken them dry. A new season is about to begin.
For God’s people, this will be a time of return, rest, restoration, and rebuilding.
Although things won’t go perfectly, there is a specific feeling and task that comes from transitioning out of a long season of discipline and suffering.
For us, as God’s people, after a season of discipline, if we let it have it’s full affect as God intends, there will come a time of return, rest, restoration, and rebuilding.
In Proverbs 3, it says:
“My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you. For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.”
Hebrews 12 says:
“No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.”
So, If you are experiencing the Lord’s discipline currently, let it have its full effect. Marinate in it. Soak up the juices of what God wants to teach you. And, ultimately, turn from your sin, and RETURN to the Lord.
If you are exiting a season of discipline and have obeyed the Lord in His correction, let this be a season of REST in the Lord. But don’t stop there… let it be a time of RESTORATION for your life to be centered on Jesus…but don’t stop there…let it be a time of REBUILDING your life on the truth that God is calling you to live for.
Posted by: Sam Cirrincione