The Love of God’s Discipline
11 My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline or be weary of his reproof,
12 for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.
When God says “I love you”, sometimes it’s through hardship, and sometimes we only see it after or in the midst of hardship.
Spoiled kids are spoiled because of an abundance of gifts and a lack of discipline. The same way, individuals are spoiled due to a lack of hardship and training from God to produce the fruit of the Spirit.
I must admit that I don’t take discipline well. I tend to resist it as much as possible, until, I’m finally broken to the point of absolutely having to seek God, and then being able to accept God’s discipline. I do not encourage this behavior; it’s painful and takes more time. So consider the alternative: seeking God and submitting to time and effort before His presence on a daily basis, and understanding on the front end that God loves you without exception; He has been faithful; and therefore God can be trusted.
Consider this poem by Laura Barter Snow:
This Thing Is From Me by Laura Barter Snow
My child, I have a message for you today; let me whisper it in your ear, that it may gild with glory any storm clouds which may arise and smooth the rough places upon which you may have to tread. It is short, only five words, but let them sink into your soul and use them as a pillow upon which to rest your weary head.
“This thing is from Me” (1 Kings 12:24)
Have you ever thought of it, that all that concerns you, concerns me, too? For “he that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of Mine eye.” Zech 2:8. “You are very precious in My sight.” Isa 43:4. Therefore, it is My special delight to educate you.
I would have you learn when temptations assail you, and the “enemy comes in like a flood” that this thing is from Me, that your weakness needs My might, and your safety lies in letting Me fight for you.
Are you in difficult circumstances, surrounded by people who do not understand you, who never consult your taste, who put you in the background? This thing is from Me. I am the God of circumstances. “Thou comest not to thy place by accident, it is the very place God meant for thee.”
Have you not asked to be made humble? See, then, I have placed you in the very school where this lesson is taught; your surroundings and companions are only working out My will.
Are you in money difficulties? Is it hard to make both ends meet? This thing is from Me, for I am your purse-bearer, and would have you draw from, and depend upon Me. My supplies are limitless. Phil 4:19. I would have you prove My promises. Let it not be said of you, “in this thing ye did not believe the Lord your God.” Deut 1:32.
Are you passing through a night of sorrow? This thing is from Me. I am the “Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” I have let earthly comforters fail you, that by turning to Me you may obtain everlasting consolation. 2 Thess 2:16-17.
Has some friend disappointed you? Was it one to whom you poured out your heart? This thing is from Me. I have allowed this disappointment to come that you may learn that the best friend to have is Jesus, He will hear you when you call, He will keep you lest you fall. The best friend to have is Jesus.
I want to be your confidant. Has someone repeated things about you that are untrue? Leave them to Me, and draw closer unto Me, thy shelter, out of reach of “the strife of tongues.” For “I will bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.” Psalm 37:6.
Have your plans been all upset? Are you bowed down and weary? This thing is from Me. You made your plans, then came asking Me to bless them, but I would have you let Me plan for you and then I take the responsibility, for “This thing is too heavy for thee, thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.” Exodus 18:18. You are only an instrument, not an agent.
Have you longed to do some great work for Me, and instead been laid aside on a bed of pain and weakness? This thing is from Me. I could not get your attention in your busy days, and I want to teach you some of My deeper lessons. “They also serve who only stand and wait.” I want you to learn to sing:
“I am not eager, bold or strong, All that is past;
I am ready not to do, at last; at last!”
Some of My greatest workers are those shut out from active service, that they may learn to wield the weapon of all-prayer.
Are you suddenly called upon to occupy a difficult and responsible position? Launch out on Me – I am trusting you with the “possession of difficulties,” and “for this thing the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto.” Deut 15:10.
This day I place in your hand this pot of holy oil; make use of it freely, My child. Let every circumstance as it arises, every word that pains you, every interruption that would make you impatient, every revelation of your own weakness, be anointed with it. The sting will go as you learn to see Me in all things. Therefore, “Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day…for it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life, and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land.” Deut 32:46-47
Count your blessings (song by Johnson Oatman)
When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God has done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
*Count your many blessings, see what God has done.
[*And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.]
Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will keep singing as the days go by.
When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings—*money cannot buy [*wealth can never buy]
Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.
So, amid the conflict whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.
Sometimes it’s difficult to see or understand that God loves you. It’s taken me years upon years, and I am still in the process of understanding. But to show me, God has used very patient and dedicated people in my life. Love is very sacrificial, and often not appreciated especially initially. It might take years before someone appreciates your love and sacrifice. But please understand that patient and persistent love, even toward the ungrateful, is the most transforming and powerful force that God uses to transform a life. So don’t stop; especially don’t stop loving or caring for and committing the way word/disobedient/ or supposedly unfixable individuals to God in prayer.
As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:1-8
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant
5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.
It’s hard and impossible to love others without understanding that you are loved: so please understand that God loves you. It doesn’t make sense for God to love wayward and sinful individuals like us, but we have seen that He not only decided to associate with us but also Gave Himself up for us; and God persists even now to bring us close to Himself by showing us that He loves us by patiently disciplining us and providing for us over years upon years.
He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? - Romans 8:32
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? - Romans 8:35
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 8:38-39
So to conclude: please understand that God loves you. If you don’t understand that please start seeking it out because understanding that God loves you will be a source of life and sustenance for you. Secondly persist in love towards the people God has put in your life. The best way to love someone is by constantly bringing that person before Gods presence in prayer, and responding to Gods direction when He tells you how to show His love for them. It takes patience, it can feel unrewarding for years, but know that God uses us to show His love toward the people in our lives.
