God's Discipline devotion by Ann Elaine Broughton
"My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son. Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons..........No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it" (Hebrews 5-7, 11 NIV).
When I was a child discipline was expected when I didn’t respect my mother or if I did something that could be harmful to me. At the time it was painful, but it did make me not want to do it again. Sassing resulted with soap in my mouth, which tasted horrible and made me think twice about sassing. Once I climbed out of my neighbor’s window above her porch and was running around on the roof, which could have meant a broken neck. The flyswatter was awaiting me when I got home, and you can bet I never walked out on the porch roof again. My mother loved me and wanted me to learn how to make good choices and respect others. It was a good lesson.
God works in the same way. His discipline comes when you don’t obey His word and do what you want to do instead of what God wants you to do. There are consequences to sins and those can be very serious. God uses those consequences to help you learn a lesson so that you won’t do it again. Learn from it, repent, and pray for strength not to do it again. God wants you to learn to make right choices so you won’t have to be disciplined. But the wonderful thing about God’s discipline is that nothing can separate you from His love. He loves you and wants you to be happy. So the next time you are suffering from the consequences of a bad choice, remember that God still loves you and just wants you to be the best Christian you can be.
Dear Lord,
It is so difficult sometimes to give up our selfish desires in order to do your will. Help us to surrender all that we are to you so that we won't have to be disciplined in order to obey you. It is only when we try to run as hard as we can in the direction of selfish motives that we find ourselves needing to be harnessed in, much to your dismay. Forgive us when we stray and help us to learn from our mistakes. Thank you for providing us the peace and righteousness that only you can provide after we are trained by your discipline.
In Jesus' name,
Amen
