VERSE:
No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields the fruit of peace and righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
— Hebrews 12:11
THOUGHT:
The context of this verse is talking about God’s discipline towards us as His children, which is for our benefit. The previous verse says that God disciplines us “so that we can share His holiness”. Discipline is a good thing, but it doesn’t feel good at the time.
You never hear any children, while they are being disciplined, say “yay! Thanks dad, I love being disciplined!” However, those who learn from their discipline while they’re young grow up in maturity and are thankful to their parents who disciplined them in love.
When children respond properly in obedience to correct discipline (not abusive discipline), it will always lead to a fruitful life down the road. This same principle is applied to us spiritually.
Not everyone, though, learns from discipline. Some harden their hearts towards discipline and are consumed with self pity which manifests itself with statements like, “I don’t deserve this” or questions like “after all I’ve done, this is how you repay me”. They’ll shift blame and point fingers and convince themselves that everyone (including God) is just out to get them. These types of people will yield no fruit and never learn from their mistakes and consequently will often live a life marked by a repetitive cycle of trial and error.
APPLICATION:
Just because discipline leads to a fruitful life marked by peace and righteousness, it doesn’t mean that it will happen for you automatically – you must be trained by it. That means that you must respond properly to discipline. When facing any type of trial, ask the Lord how you can be trained in it and take advantage of the opportunity to yield fruit.
PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, I do not despise your discipline. I pray that you would help me respond properly to discipline so that I can be trained by it, yielding fruit of peace and righteousness. In Jesus’ Name I pray, AMEN!