Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the LORD your God disciplines you. So you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him.
Deuteronomy 8:5-6
Discipline is a mark of love. God speaks these words through Moses to a generation that had grown up in the harsh wilderness of Sinai. They were fed by manna from heaven. Their clothing and shoes miraculously lasted an entire generation. They looked for everything to come from the hand of God even as their parents suffered punishment for disobedience. They learned discipline that led to continued obedience.
Hard circumstances enter the lives of God's children. That is true. And the question is often "Why does God bring them?" You can say "allow them" if you like, but personally, for me, that softens none of the reality of the hardship. God is sovereign and pain and difficulty do not supersede His control. If they come to us, He has full knowledge and control over that truth. So, He must be God beyond our thoughts about hardship and He must be a God Who will use hardship in us for His purposes.
When life is hard, it is for our good. God is disciplining us... not in a punishing sense, but in a maturing sense. Difficulties bring their own growth moments. They are deep. They may be emotional. But they are still chances for us to grow closer to our Father as we learn discipline.
- Posted with my iPad. The Apple Kool-Aide tastes fine.
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