Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ! Welcome to the column of our „Daily Word for Spiritual Edification”! We have been discussing how God having accepted us as His children disciplines and chastises us in order for us to grow in the likeness of Jesus Christ. God’s chastisement is not a sign of His displeasure; rather, it is the sign of His acceptance.
What are the goals of God’s chastening? - To provide for us assurance and safety. Through discipline God desires to give His children exhortation:
«And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons…» (Hebrews, 12:5).
When God sets boundaries and standards for us, it allows us to have assurance and feeling of safety.
- To express His love for us:
«For whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives» (Hebrews, 12:6а).
God chastises us because He loves us. And He cares for what happens in our lives and what we become.
- To show us His acceptance:
«… and scourges every son whom He receives» (Hebrews, 12:6).
Sometimes people have an impression that punishment is a sign of God’s rejection. Yet the Bible tells us the opposite. When God accepts us He builds and corrects us, and if necessary chastises us.
- To help us walk in His holiness:
«…but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness» (Hebrews, 12:10).
It is God’s will for every one of us to walk in God’s holiness. And one of the ways how God persuades us is through discipline and chastisement.
- To teach us how we should and shouldn’t live:
«… afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it» (Hebrews, 12:11).
There are many ways God teaches us things. In particular, pain and suffering are some of the instruments through which God teaches us how we should live. As we already said before, God’s Word is profitable for instruction, and the Scripture is the main method of God’s instruction. But even that also is not without pain, since abiding in God’s Word and walking in accordance with it requires a person to deny himself or to suffer in his flesh. That is why Peter said that whoever suffers ceases from sinning:
«Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin» (1 Peter, 4:1).
If we are willing to suffer in order to understand and follow biblical instructions, then we will learn those important lessons God wants to teach us. Yes, as we all know, we do not always follow the instructions and for that we are chastised. There is a saying that
people learn from their mistakes. You know why? Mistakes are usually costly. Mistakes are painful, and pain helps us ‘to get it’ a lot faster. Imagine a situation when a mother tells her son not to touch the stove, because he can get hurt. Do you think all children listen to the instructions and requests of their parents? Of course, not! But after the boy does what was forbidden and burns his hand, he won’t have to be reminded not to touch the stove. Pain is a great instructor! So we are taught through pain and suffering. Different trials come into our lives because of God’s Word that we have heard and accepted or because of our disobedience to this word. Trials because of the Word come into believers’ lives in order to let them make a choice whether to live the old way or to learn living according to the revelation of the Holy Spirit:
«…when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake…» (Mark, 4:17).
Did you notice that tribulation or persecution arises for the sake of the word? And this tribulation is what God allows in our lives to teach us the right lifestyle. Tomorrow we will discuss some more why God uses trials and sufferings in the lives of His children. God bless you! Pastor Rufus Ajiboye
