Suffering As Discipline

Suffering As Discipline

As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it is painful! But afterward there will be a quiet harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. –Hebrews 12:7, 11

God takes no pleasure in the pain of discipline. In fact, he suffers when we suffer, like the parent who says, “This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you.” When we truly believe our Father loves us, we can accept the idea that out of that love, sometimes God allows us to suffer so we might be disciplined by it.

It is good for us to learn that sin hurts us, so God might allow us to experience the pain sin causes. It is good for us to learn that disobedience leads to emptiness and regret, so he might allow us to feel the pain of that regret.

The truth is, if God chose not to discipline you, it would mean that he did not love you. He loves you so much that he is not willing to leave you as you are. He wants the pain of his discipline to rub off your rough edges that make you miserable and tone your spiritual muscles so you can carry heavy loads.

The purpose of God’s discipline is not to hurt you—the purpose is to help you grow and mature. Learning from God’s discipline is no fun at the time, but when you are willing to be trained by it—to be molded and shaped by it—it results in God’s richest, most rewarding gift—a peace and joy at your core that comes from knowing everything is right between you and God. This is the kind of inner satisfaction that comes from allowing God’s discipline to refine and sharpen you so that you will go around spreading righteousness and peace instead of discord and disobedience.

My perfect Parent, in so many ways I am like a little child always wanting my own way. And I certainly want the easy, pain-free way. But I invite you and trust you to use even hardship to discipline me so that I can know the joy and peace of being right with you.

DIGGING DEEPER