MONTHLY MEDITATION

"A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." - Proverbs 17:17

Richard Exley, in Life's Bottom Line, writes, "Several weeks ago I was agonizing over a situation in which I had to discipline a man. Though I felt I had done the right thing, and in the right way, I still grieved for him. As I was wrestling with my feelings in prayer, I sensed the Lord speaking to me and I wrote:

 "My son, power is a dangerous thing, and it must always be mitigated with My eternal love. I will cause you to feel the pain of My discipline even when it is toward another. You will feel every sting of the lash in your own flesh. You must, or in your zealousness you would go too far. You will grieve, even as Samuel grieved for Saul. Yet I will also make you feel that awful pain of their sin, for if you do not feel that terrible pain, you will draw back from administering the discipline of the Lord."

 Exley, concludes, "Confrontation is invariably necessary. A relationship seldom achieves its full potential without it; but it is almost always doomed to failure unless it grows out of a deep trust built on honest communication. It is extremely important to take great care to create a safe place for affirmation and acceptance, where a person can be assured, again and again, of our love. Even then, confrontation will be risky and should be undertaken only after we have carefully prepared our hearts before our God."

THOUGHT: A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down.