Of Pain And Gain

Read: Psalm 32
"Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; but he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him." —Psalm 32:10

During summer training camp, the coaches on one football team wore T-shirts intended to urge their players to exert maximum effort. The shirts bore the motto, “Each day you must choose: The pain of discipline or the pain of regret.” Discipline is tough—and something we may try to avoid. But in sports and in life, short-term pain is often the only path to long-term gain. In the heat of battle it is too late to prepare. Either you are ready for the challenges of life or you will be haunted by the “what ifs,” “if onlys,” and “I should’ves” that accompany the failure to be prepared. That’s the pain of regret.

One source defines regret as “an intelligent and emotional dislike for personal past acts and behaviors.” It’s painful to look back at our choices through the lens of regret and feel the weight of our failures. This was the case for the psalmist. After a personal episode of sin and failure, he wrote, “Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; but he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him” (Ps. 32:10). In the clarity of hindsight, he saw the wisdom of a life that strives to honor the Lord—a life that does not need to be marked by regret.

May our choices today not result in regret, but rather be wise and God-honoring.

In You, O Lord, we take delight,Our every need You can supply;We long to do what’s true and right,So, Lord, on You we will rely. —D. De Haan

Present choices determine future rewards. 

Verse of the Day

The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Romans 13:9-10
New International Version 

THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE...
Wouldn't it be great if we didn't have to have laws to keep people in line! That's the point behind Paul's message here. Treat our neighbors as we would like to be treated. Love them as we like to be loved. If we do that, then we're not going to do anything that would hurt them, much less violate a command of law! 

MY PRAYER...
God, who gave Moses the Law on tablets of stone, please write your character and will on my heart so I might be a living stone, testifying to your righteousness and grace. Help me to think more carefully about how my neighbors feel before I act or react to them today! Through your Son I pray. Amen.