"And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said, 'My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.' As you endure this divine discipline, remember that
God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who
is never disciplined by its father? If God doesn’t discipline you as he
does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not
really his children at all. Since we respected our earthly fathers who
disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the
Father of our spirits, and live forever? For our earthly fathers
disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s
discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his
holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful!
But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for
those who are trained in this way. So take a new grip with your tired
hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your
feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become
strong." Hebrews 12:5-13 NLT
One of the hardest things to admit about ourselves is that sometimes, in our imperfection, we don't always learn from our mistakes or that our self destructive behavior is sometimes still comfortable for us. We sometimes, even though we've been in relationship with God and in recovery for years, find ourselves stuck in a pattern of behavior that stunts our spiritual growth. When we get stuck like this God will sometimes, like any good Father, attempt to correct our behavior. We find ourselves being spiritually disciplined to get us back on track. Like any child discipline is not going to feel good, but it is necessary. We may be tempted to act like a child and tell God He is too harsh or think that He doesn't love us, when in fact He is doing it BECAUSE He loves us. Not disciplining us would mean He didn't care enough to try and stop us from destroying ourselves.
While we're being chastised we basically have two choices, we can endure it, try to learn the lesson behind it and correct the behavior or we can sulk, pout and be resentful and probably be more disobedient. The first choice will help us grow into better servants and into a deeper relationship with God while the second will probably have us cause ourselves more pain.
One of the things we need to understand about God is that He doesn't just discipline us because He's holy and hates sin, but because He know that everything that He has called sin is actually harmful to us. When we are honest with ourselves we will admit it's destructive as well. Most loving parents will tell you that disciplining a child hurts them more than it hurt than it hurts the child, and God is no different. Its not even about making the "punishment" fit the "crime" but about simply teaching the lesson. Some of us can simply be told not to do it again and we'll will never do it again. However, some of us a more hard headed and it requires something stronger to get our attention.
Finally, we can be confident that unlike our imperfect, natural, human parents, God is never unnecessarily harsh because He's having a bad day, or because He's frustrated at His job and takes it out on us. He never runs out of patience. He is never overwhelmed or too busy for us. He is never so angry at us that He forgets we are His child. He never gives up on us or stops loving us. He never stops giving us another chance. He never loses His temper and thinks we are a mistake, because He doesn't make mistakes. His discipline isn't used as tool to relieve His anger at us but to simply help us be better. God is love and sometimes that perfect love means He will help us face our imperfections and grow.
One of the hardest things to admit about ourselves is that sometimes, in our imperfection, we don't always learn from our mistakes or that our self destructive behavior is sometimes still comfortable for us. We sometimes, even though we've been in relationship with God and in recovery for years, find ourselves stuck in a pattern of behavior that stunts our spiritual growth. When we get stuck like this God will sometimes, like any good Father, attempt to correct our behavior. We find ourselves being spiritually disciplined to get us back on track. Like any child discipline is not going to feel good, but it is necessary. We may be tempted to act like a child and tell God He is too harsh or think that He doesn't love us, when in fact He is doing it BECAUSE He loves us. Not disciplining us would mean He didn't care enough to try and stop us from destroying ourselves.
While we're being chastised we basically have two choices, we can endure it, try to learn the lesson behind it and correct the behavior or we can sulk, pout and be resentful and probably be more disobedient. The first choice will help us grow into better servants and into a deeper relationship with God while the second will probably have us cause ourselves more pain.
One of the things we need to understand about God is that He doesn't just discipline us because He's holy and hates sin, but because He know that everything that He has called sin is actually harmful to us. When we are honest with ourselves we will admit it's destructive as well. Most loving parents will tell you that disciplining a child hurts them more than it hurt than it hurts the child, and God is no different. Its not even about making the "punishment" fit the "crime" but about simply teaching the lesson. Some of us can simply be told not to do it again and we'll will never do it again. However, some of us a more hard headed and it requires something stronger to get our attention.
Finally, we can be confident that unlike our imperfect, natural, human parents, God is never unnecessarily harsh because He's having a bad day, or because He's frustrated at His job and takes it out on us. He never runs out of patience. He is never overwhelmed or too busy for us. He is never so angry at us that He forgets we are His child. He never gives up on us or stops loving us. He never stops giving us another chance. He never loses His temper and thinks we are a mistake, because He doesn't make mistakes. His discipline isn't used as tool to relieve His anger at us but to simply help us be better. God is love and sometimes that perfect love means He will help us face our imperfections and grow.
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