“ "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."”
The meditations of the heart and the thoughts of the mind have a great bearing on what we do and how we do it. In other words, our inner and outer selves are connected, and freedom from fear, anxieties, and the like begins on the inside. Blessedly, the LORD our God—who delights in our freedom from ungodly spiritual and physical experiences—has divine access to our hearts and minds. After all, "in Him we live and move and have our being" (Act 17:28 NKJV). Yes, "It is He who has made us, not we ourselves [and we are His]" (Psa 100:3 AMP); nothing about us is foreign to Him, and nothing concerning us will ever take Him by surprise.
The foregoing Scriptural truth has several implications; one is that by the time the LORD starts dealing with some things in our character or lives, He already knows us better than we know ourselves. More than that, His intentions towards us are good, however gruelling the experience might be. Psalm 66:10-12 offers much to reflect upon in that regard: "You, O God, have proved us; You have tried us as silver is tried, refined, and purified. You brought us into the net (the prison fortress, the dungeon); You laid a heavy burden upon our loins. You caused men to ride over our heads [when we were prostrate]; we went through fire and through water..."
"BUT You brought us out into a broad, moist place [to abundance and refreshment and the open air]" (AMPC). Hallelujah! Some day in heaven, the LORD will fully disclose to us why He handles us in such ways. However, God's Word gives us something to go by in the meantime: "God deals with you as with sons...for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness" (Heb 12:7, 10 NKJV). Our reference text adds, "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." Bless the LORD that there is always an "afterward"; that is, a bringing out "into a broad, moist place". Hallelujah!
Pst. Emmanuel