Wednesday, April 20, 2011

God disciplines us for our own good

All of God's children experience discipline from His hand. It is sorrowful and while we are going through it we don't enjoy it. But, nevertheless it is good for us. The Bible verses we'll start with are in Hebrews 12:4-11.

 You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons,
My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
Nor faint when you are reproved by Him;
For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines,
And He scourges every son whom He receives.”
It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we hadearthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject tothe Father of spirits, and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. 11 All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.


Verse 4 speaks about not resisting wholeheartedly in our battle against sin. And until we reach that diligent level of resisting sin we will experience times of God's loving discipline.

Verses 5 mentions two things we should not do while experiencing His discipline. We should not take it lightly. And we should not faint when it comes our way.

God is serious about sin. If God is dealing with an area of our life then we need to take it seriously too. We must deal radically with it and remove it. Also we are not to faint under His discipline. What is shared in verse 6 can keep us from fainting. Why? One reason is because we know that we are being disciplined because He loves us. He is at work in us for our own good.  It may also be helpful to remember that every son, without exception, experiences it. Additionally, it can reassure us that we are His children, since He disciplines those whom He receives. In contrast verse 8 states that if we don't experience God's discipline we are not His children.

Verse 7 tells us that discipline produces endurance and it can get us back on the right path. David spoke about how he was afflicted by God when he drifted from God's ways. Here is what David said in Psalm 119:67,71,75

67Before I was afflicted I went astray,
         But now I keep Your word. 

71It is good for me that I was afflicted,
         That I may learn Your statutes. 

75I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are righteous,
         And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.


Notice in verse 67 that David was going astray. But the affliction brought him to a place of obedience. In verse 71 he recognized that his affliction was good for him. He realized that the affliction he experienced enabled him to learn God's statues. And in verse 75 David sees God's love in the affliction. He recognized that the affliction was an expression of God's faithfulness to him.

Now getting back to our original passage lets conclude with verse 11. If we allow God's loving discipline to train us to obey we will enjoy the "... peaceful fruit of righteousness."


Scripture quotations taken from the "NASB" (www.lockman.org)

This link can send today's Bible devotion to a friend fast and easy.

1 comment:

  1. i can now consider... that this is the affliction of my life.. i pray to God.. to give me more strength to face this affliction i have right now so that i can have my peaceful fruit of righteousness.. i know He will never leave me.. and He loves me so much more that i am this saying these things right now..

    ReplyDelete