It was 1995 and I was working in a factory on steady . I had given my two weeks notice as our shift work was not working out for my hubby and I to get any rest with our new baby and we were worn out; so we decided that since he had the better job, I would quit my job to stay home and take care of her. With two weeks left, I was working just as hard as ever. The very last day at work, I was rolling a plastic injection mould on a cart over to the maintenance area to be repaired, and this automatic rolling up door caught on the bottom of the cart, flipped it up, and “SLAM” the heavy mould hit the concrete floor.
The sound was horrendous, and the repercussions of the issue would not be good, but my favorite part (facetiously written) was- what a blessing it was to have people from both sides of the factory watch my embarrassment! Looking back I guess a lesson in humility is good for a person now and then, but as one who prided herself on work excellence, this was not the way I wanted to increase such an attribute. Anyway, I guess you could say I went out with a bang!
Many lessons or things that help us grow in Christian maturity do not come to us the easy way, or at least that’s my experience. It sometimes takes me a few times banging my head before I realize that I’m not getting any results, and then I just have a headache! But I’m finding as I get older, that I learn somewhat faster, and the pain of the lesson is relieved much sooner. Many of the characters we ‘meet’ in the Bible also had opportunities for growth in their journeys.
Peter learned humility and the untrustworthiness of man after he denied the Lord the night before his execution (Mr. 14) and was overcome with sadness. Stephen grew in conviction and endurance (Acts 7) and in the end displayed great forgiveness. Job grew in patience, longsuffering (with his ‘friends’ help) and endurance. Moses also grew in patience, learned boldness, trust in God, and fortitude and judgment for sin. Jacob learned the effects of deception (Gen. 29) the difficulties in maintaining family relationships, and endurance through sorrow and loss (Gen. 44:27-29).
David grew in knowledge of the evil of man’s heart, man’s penchant for sin (2Sm. 12:1) and how sin causes repercussions (several times) even to the loss of a child. Solomon grew in understanding of the world’s pleasures and wealth being vanity and of no value in the end (Eccl.). Nebuchadnezzar grew in humility and understanding of the supremeness of Jehovah God (Dan. 4). Elijah grew in trust for the Lord despite fearing a wicked sovereign and was chastised/ humbled by God when he whined about being the only one serving God (1Kn. ).
Chastisements and lessons learned the hard way are never what we want, but they serve a vital purpose in our lives, they help us grow, and fruit to abound (2Pt. 1:8). The Lord chastises those He loves, so if you want Him to love you at all times then you must accept He will chastise you (Heb. 12:6; Pr. 3:12; Rev. 3:19) some of those times as every good parent does. What’s the worst that could happen anyway…
Bang!