Mark Tabata’s Weekday Devotionals:
Friday May 22 2026
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Hebrews 12:11-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.
We live in the midst of a society of instant gratification. Medicine, technology, personal interactions, and other avenues lead us to a life of “if you want it, you can have it now” mentality. This is extremely dangerous, and people can be easily sabotaged by the allure of having whatever pleasurable they desire immediately. As a result, people often do not think about long-term consequences for their decisions.
Of course, this has in many ways always been a failing of humanity.
Deuteronomy 32:29-Oh, that they were wise, that they understood this, That they would consider their latter end!
Lamentations 1:9-Her uncleanness is in her skirts; She did not consider her destiny; Therefore her collapse was awesome; She had no comforter. “O LORD, behold my affliction, For the enemy is exalted!”
In Scripture, there is blessing for God’s people who patiently wait for God to bring the fulfillment of His promises. This hope encourages us in our trials, even as it empowers us as we grow. Paul wrote:
Romans 5:1-5-Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
The Apostle wants us to understand that there are blessings that God brings through our struggles as we “persevere” in “hope.” “Perseverance” has reference to good developments in character and circumstance that God brings through hardship, while “hope” has reference to “certain expectation” that awaits God’s people for when He chooses (at the proper time) to bring about such fulfillment. It was this same type of perseverance and hope that comforted God’s people during the long ages when He promised to send the Messiah (Romans 5:6-8), and which ensures our victory in Him at the appropriate time (Romans 5:9-11).
One author so powerfully and eloquently describes this idea of hope deferred.
The implications of accepting pain are significant in dealing with specific addictions, but they become massive in terms of our basic attitude toward life. In our society, we have come to believe that discomfort always means something is wrong. We are conditioned to believe that feelings of distress, pain, deprivation, yearning, and longing mean something is wrong with the way we are living our lives. Conversely, we are convinced that a rightly lived life must give us serenity, completion, and fulfillment. Comfort means “right” and distress means “wrong.” The influence of such convictions is stifling to the human spirit. Individually and collectively, we must somehow recover the truth. The truth is, we were never meant to be completely satisfied. If God indeed creates us in love, of love, and for love, then we are meant for a life of joy and freedom, not endless suffering and pain. But if God also creates us with an inborn longing for God, then human life is also meant to contain yearning, incompleteness, and lack of fulfillment. To live as a child of God is to live with love and hope and growth, but it is also to live with longing, with aching for a fullness of love that is never quite within our grasp. As attachments lighten and idols fall, we will enjoy increasing freedom. But at the same time our hearts will feel an even greater, purer, deeper ache. This particular pain is one that never leaves us. Authentic spiritual wholeness, by its very nature, is open-ended. It is always in the process of becoming, always incomplete. Thus we ourselves must also be always incomplete. If it were otherwise, we could never exercise our God-given right to participate in ongoing creation. The course of our lives is precisely as Saint Augustine indicated: our hearts will never rest, nor are they meant to rest, until they rest in God. This precious restlessness is mediated by and manifested through our physical being, through the combined minute strugglings of the cells of our brains and bodies as they seek harmony and balance in their endless adjustment to circumstances. Our fundamental disease, then, is at once a precise neurological phenomenon and a most precious gift from God. It is not a sign of something wrong, but of something more profoundly right than we could ever dream of. It is no problem to be solved, no pathology to be treated, no disease to be cured. It is our true treasure, the most precious thing we have. It is God’s song of love in our soul. Moreover, it is not simply a song sung to us from a faraway God in heaven; it is simultaneously the expression of Christ-with-and-Spirit-in us, sharing our suffering and restlessness, creating and empowering and living in and through the very cells that make us up, preserving our freedom with endless intimate love in everything we do and are. And, always, leaving us unsatisfied, calling. To claim our rightful place in destiny, we must not only accept and claim the sweetly painful incompleteness within ourselves, but also affirm it with all our hearts. Somehow we must come to fall in love with it. I have quoted Paul on this before, but let us listen once again: The Holy Spirit and our spirit together bear witness that we are children of God. And if we are children we are heirs as well: heirs of God and coheirs with Christ, sharing his sufferings so as to share his glory. What we experience in this life can never be compared to the unrevealed splendor that is waiting for us. The whole creation, which was made unfulfilled by God, is waiting with eager longing, hoping to be freed. From the beginning till now all creation has been groaning in one great act of giving birth; and we too, who possess the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait to be set free. 9 (Gerald G. May MD, Addiction and Grace: Exploring the Psychology of Addiction, the Power of Spirituality, and the Path to Freedom Through Contemplative Practices (Love and Spirituality in the Healing of Addictions), 179-181 (Kindle Edition): New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers, Inc.).
If you are going through a difficult phase of life, hold to God’s promises. Do not allow discouragement to rob you of the hope that is yours in Christ Jesus.
Thanks Lord for the hope that we have in You. Help us to cling to that when life becomes difficult and trying. Amen.