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Hebrews 12:3-11
The author of Hebrews speaks about the discipline of God in the lives of those who have put their faith in Him. (There must have been a noted resistance to experiencing difficulty or discipline as from God in the lives of the believers.) The author notes that Jesus has shed His blood on the cross as He endured the hostility from all those who refused to believe in Him, and yet these who seem to be complaining about the struggles of being a Christian have not come to the point of shedding their blood in their fight against sin (Hebrews 12:3-4). Proverbs 3:11-12 is given as an example that God disciplines those He loves, and in receiving discipline from God one should not be discouraged as God is dealing with them as a father deals with the discipline of his children, given the intended result to be correction which leads to respect. In being disciplined from God, the correction and respect goes a step further in that it should lead to gaining holiness from the LORD (Hebrews 12:10). The author of Hebrews notes that no discipline seems to be joyful when one is being disciplined, but it will lead to the “peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11, NKJV).
This is a promise that God disciplines those He loves as it is intended for growth to correction, respect, and for gaining His holiness in one’s life.
If we are growing in our relationship with God, He will discipline us from time to time to help us grow in respect for Him and His holiness. We must also remember that we are still yet human and prone to stray from the path in which He leads us. His correction in our lives is a sign that He is still working on molding and shaping us as He chips away at the unwanted layers of our lives that He is refurbishing and making into the new creation that He has given those who believe in Him – in Christ (Proverbs 3:11-12). Being disciplined is never fun, but we must remember that God disciplines those He loves so that we may grow into what His will for us has in store.
Dear LORD,
No one enjoys being disciplined, and in so, we ask that You help us to see that as You discipline us, You are helping us to learn and grow in Your will for our lives that we would be the person that You are shaping us into to bring glory to You through our lives. In Jesus name I pray, amen.