"My son, do not make light of the Lord’s
discipline, and do not lose heart when
he rebukes you, because the Lord
disciplines the one he loves."
Hebrews 12: 5-6
God provides the discipline we need to
become mature members of His family.
This isn’t easy teaching to understand.
Sometimes we wonder if God is disciplining us
whenever we get sick. If we suffer a misfortune,
is it because we have committed a certain sin?
Not necessarily. It’s often hard to know when a
particular hardship constitutes His chastening.
Often God whispers in our heart to tell us He's
correcting us. Our conscience whispers, “The
Lord is teaching you a lesson.” If so, take it to
heart. He’s doing it out of
love.
All the hardships of life are the means by which
we develop the discipline of discipleship. There
are lessons in every circumstance, and maturity
can be gained in every hardship.
Just like earthly fathers, our Heavenly Father
demonstrates His love for us through discipline.
Though we may not like discipline, let’s learn to
be thankful for this demonstration of God’s love
in our life.
"If God didn’t discipline His children He would
be a negligent father. He would be displaying
cruel disinterest if He were indifferent to
whether His children obeyed or not."