God’s Discipline is Inevitable
IF we are God’s children, having trusted Jesus Christ, having received Him as Lord and Savior, THEN God disciplines us, training and educating us as His children, making us more like His Son.
God loves His children, therefore He disciplines us.
Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline. (Revelation 3:19)
God’s discipline is inevitable.
God’s Discipline has a Loving Purpose
God’s discipline is loving, and has a loving purpose.
He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. (Hebrews 12:10)
His discipline yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. (Hebrews 12:10)
When the Lord disciplines us, it might be because of our sin and its consequences, or to correct an attitude or habit that would lead to sin, or to educate us in some way.
God’s Discipline Hurts
It hurts. 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. (Hebrews 12:11)
But we can know, must know, that because God loves us, He disciplines us. God’s loving purpose is to make us more righteous. To make us into the image of His Son. To prepare us for heaven.
Our Response
When (not if) God disciplines us, we are to repent. We are to be zealous and repent.
Recognize that is our loving Father who is at work in us. Therefore be zealous and repent. (Revelation 3:19)
Don’t forget He loves us, don’t complain He loves us so much He disciplines us, don’t question His motive or wisdom, take it seriously and repent.
Praise Him
Praise Him for His love, His wisdom, His eternal loving purpose.
And read the section in Hebrews on discipline: Hebrews 12:4-11.
