February 23: Chastened of the Lord
♫ Music:
Day 10 - Friday, February 23
Title: CHASTENED OF THE LORD
Scripture: Hebrews 12:4-11 (NKJV)
For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.” If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
Poetry & Poet:
“Too late or not too late”
by Timothy E.G. Bartel
There comes a sense as Fall is lengthening
That you are too far in to draw your mind
Back out to summer, or to what you thought
In spring. The leaves are much too brown, and in
The mornings there is frost as often as
There’s not. You’re made complicit with the year,
With its accomplishments and with its guilt,
With all the things concluded in its span:
A book that’s finally read, the argument
That never got resolved, a failure to
Explain yourself to those who were confused.
I’d like to say: it’s not too late for you—
There is no snow upon the roads just yet;
There’s light to still repent and not forget.
TRAINING THROUGH SUFFERING
Stoicism is one of my research interests. In his Discourses, the philosopher Epictetus uses the word gymnazo to describe suffering as a gymnastic exercise, one that Zeus uses to train his children in excellence, just as Heracles became a hero through his labors. In a Greek gymnasium, a trainer would examine the athlete. Each athlete was built differently and had specific strengths and weaknesses. The best trainer would conduct a personal examination, determining exactly what diet and exercises would enable the athlete to compete at the highest level.
God undertakes this kind of an examination of his children, one of love, care, and a thorough knowledge of our history, personality, and needs. Our own connotations regarding chastisement and discipline can cause us to misinterpret the passage for today and think that Hebrews 12:4-11 is speaking of God’s punishment for something we have done wrong. While God can use suffering as a means of awakening us to sin and leading us to repentance, the author of Hebrews does not intend that as his primary focus here. Although he uses the word for scourging once, the word that occurs repeatedly throughout this passage (eight times in fact) is paideia, the education that a child receives to develop properly into adulthood. Finally, the author ends with the assurance that those who have been trained (gymnazo) will gain a joyful harvest, the peaceful fruit of righteousness.[1] As Steve Bell reminds us in the music for today, the darkest night can unite us with Christ in a relational understanding of his love.
None of us escapes suffering. There is no need to provide a personal example here, as each of us can instantly recall trials, losses, and griefs that we have faced. Through difficult times in life, from the fleeting exasperation caused by highway traffic to the severe pain of losing a loved one, it is a profound comfort to remember that God does not allow these circumstances to be pointless or wasted. Instead, as a loving Father, he enables them to shape us into the image of his Son, the one who also learned obedience through suffering. Just as a student undergoes the discipline of long hours practicing an instrument or pouring over math problems, or as an Olympic athlete trains intensely to gain strength, swiftness, and agility, we also labor to develop the fruit of the Christian life. If it is any consolation, a person begins by running a mile, not a marathon. Novice athletes do not undergo the severest training. The long and challenging exercises are reserved for those who want to be the most excellent, to attain the highest level. During a recent Torrey discussion on The Horse and His Boy, my students and I discussed C. S. Lewis’ observation that “if you do one good deed your reward usually is to be set to do another and harder and better one.” Similarly, the passage for today is not designed to cause our hearts to fail, but rather to inspire bravery and resolution, helping us rise to the challenge.
Prayer
Father, thank you for transforming our suffering so that it is something of value and not meaningless. Please give us grace to respond with courage and hope, that we might view it as an opportunity to grow more like Christ and to have your fruit abound in our lives.
1 For further exploration of this idea, see Martyn Lloyd-Jones’s Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cures (1965, pp. 246-259) and J. I. Packer’s Rediscovering Holiness (2009, pp.15-16).
Dr. Laurie Wilson
Assistant Professor
Torrey Honors College
Biola University
For more information about the artwork, music, and poetry selected for this day, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab.
About the Art:
The Redeemer
Enrique Martinez Celaya
2022
Oil and wax on canvas
57 x 51 cm.
About the Artist:
Enrique Martinez Celaya (b. 1964) is a contemporary Los Angeles artist whose work examines the complexities and mysteries of individual experience, particularly in its relation to nature and time. Celaya’s work explores the question of authenticity by addressing “memory, familiarity, attachment, love, death, and longing.” His artwork has been widely exhibited internationally and is included in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, and the Museum der bildenden Kunste in Leipzig. He has authored two volumes, Collected Writings and Interviews 1990-2010 and The Nebraska Lectures. His poetic painting The Redeemer vividly depicts a young man with winglike flames burning on each shoulder. This searing image seems to echo the plea for the Holy Spirit to build his Kingdom deep within our hearts.
http://www.martinezcelaya.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enrique_Martinez_Celaya
About the Music:
“Dark Night of The Soul” from the album Solace for Seasons of Suffering
Lyrics:
Into the darkest night
With a heartache kindled into love,
I took a chance.
When at last I went out unobserved
My house being wrapped in sleep.
The hour made secure
And concealed my flight to my beloved,
I took a chance.
And left familiar treasures well behind,
Too far for comforting.
I went out by myself,
Seen by no one else.
A somewhat reckless journey from the start.
Pressing through the night without light or guide
Save the fire that consumed my heart.
I bless the starless night,
A night by far more lovely than the dawn.
Oh, happy chance,
To discover this barren dark,
The one I knew so well.
And there with my love I rested,
Fanned by a cooling wind.
Wounded by love’s caresses,
Suspending all my senses.
Bless this happy night,
That unites the lover and the loved.
Oh, happy chance.
To abandon every wretched care,
Among the lilies there.
And there with my love I rested,
Fanned by a cooling wind.
Wounded by love’s caresses,
Suspending all my senses.
Bless this happy night.
That unites the lover and the loved,
Oh, happy chance.
To abandon every wretched care,
Among the lilies here.
About the Lyricist:
Adapted from the poem “The Dark Night” by St. John of the Cross
The Dark Night of the Soul (La Noche Oscura del Alma) is an aspect of passive purification of the spirit in mystical development, as described by the sixteenth-century Spanish Catholic mystic and poet St. John of the Cross (1542–1591) in his treatise Dark Night (Noche Oscura), a commentary on his poem with the same name. In modern times, the phrase "dark night of the soul" is used to describe a crisis of faith or a difficult, painful period in one's life.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/st-john-of-the-cross
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Night_of_the_Soul
About the Composer/Performer:
Steve Bell (b. 1960) has been called a “songwriter, storyteller, and troubadour for our time.” This Canadian musician uses artful words and songs to encourage Christian faith and thoughtful living. Bell has been performing and touring since he was eight years old. Since Steve’s father was a prison chaplain, it was federal prisoners at Drumheller Penitentiary in Alberta, Canada, who taught the young boy to play guitar. More than a quarter century since the release of Steve’s first solo album, his accomplishments continue to demonstrate his commitment to excellence and creativity. These endeavors have led not only to commercial success for Steve’s self-launched record label Signpost Music but have also garnered a stream of accolades including three JUNO Awards, numerous Western Canadian and Prairie Music Awards, and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal. Steve has mentored several emerging artists and worked with various organizations to promote arts and education. He also uses his stage to attract attention, build awareness, and provide thoughtful helps to the world’s less fortunate and resourced—locally, nationally, and internationally—represented by such worthy organizations as Canadian Foodgrains Bank, Compassion Canada, Siloam Mission, and the National Roundtable on Homelessness and Poverty. In addition to his year-round touring schedule and increasing number of speaking engagements at conferences and universities, Bell has written articles for various publications; co-published a book on the Psalms with Jamie Howison; and recently completed a seven-book box set called Pilgrim Year, which features reflections on the spirituality of the Christian liturgical calendar and incorporates story, song, poetry, and art.
https://stevebell.com/
About the Poetry and Poet:
Timothy E. G. Bartel is a poet and literature professor. He holds an M.F.A. from Seattle Pacific University and a Ph.D. from the University of St Andrews. His poems have appeared in various journals and magazines, including Christianity and Literature, Curator, Pilgrimage, Relief, and Saint Katherine Review, and he is the author of three collections of poetry: The Martyr, The Grizzly, the Gold; Arroyos: Sijo and Other Poems; and Aflame But Unconsumed. His critical essays and reviews have recently appeared in Notes and Queries and Christianity and Literature. Originally from California, Timothy has lived in the US and Scotland, and currently resides in Texas, where he serves as assistant professor of great texts and writing at the Saint Constantine School. He is the founding editor of Californios Press and currently edits the Californios Chapbook Series.
https://timothyegbartel.wordpress.com/about/
About the Devotion Writer:
Dr. Laurie Wilson
Assistant Professor
Torrey Honors College
Biola University
Laurie Wilson, an assistant professor in the Torrey Honors College at Biola University, received her master’s degree in Greek and Latin and her doctoral degree in classics from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, where she was an H. B. Earhart Foundation fellow and a postgraduate fellow in the James Wilson Programme for Constitutional Studies. This background reflects her passion for classical studies and for her interdisciplinary research, which has focused on Augustine, Cicero, and writings from the American founders.