Suffering as a method of discipline III

Greetings to you, my dear friends! Grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ! We are talking about how God sometimes allows sorrow and suffering in our lives in order for us to grow in His likeness and see what blessings are hidden in obedience and holiness. We saw that in both Old and New Testaments that God disciplines His children when they open the door for His discipline by being disobedient to His commandments. It says in the Bible: 

«Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects; therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty. For He bruises, but He binds up; He wounds, but His hands make whole. He shall deliver you in six troubles, yes, in seven no evil shall touch you» (Job, 5:17-19).

 God can exhort or teach us through punishment and pain, so we shouldn’t refuse or avoid it. God’s chastening can cause wounds, pain, defeat and misfortunes in our lives, but God does it all in love. And when the goal of God’s chastening is reached, He takes all these bad things away and heals us. It is very important to see and understand phrases like «He wounds» and «He bruises» in the context of the whole spirit of the Scripture. They do not mean that God Himself fills our lives with evil, because in accordance to the Epistle of James, God does not tempt with evil: 

«Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor He Himself tempt anyone» (James, 1:13).

 Only the devil is able to do that when we give him place through disobedience and sin. That is why it says in the Book of Proverbs: 

«The LORD has made all for Himself, yes, even the wicked for the day of doom» (Proverbs, 16:4).

 When we keep ourselves according to God’s Word and walk in the light, then the evil one cannot touch us: 

 «We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him» (1 John, 5:18).

 If by our disobedience we open the door for the devil, then God lets him enter our lives and it is both a consequence of our sin and a measure of punishment. God allows all those things because He loves us and wants to draw our attention to the fact that we have departed from the right path. God’s chastisement is a sign of His love and favour for us; He treats us as a father treats his children. We see it is the following verse of the Scripture: 

«My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor detest His correction; for whom the LORD loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights» (Proverbs, 3:11-12).

 God chastises us in love and not in anger or for His own pleasure in order to save us. The Scripture assures us of this: 

 «For I am with you,’ says the LORD, ‘to save you; though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you, yet I will not make a complete end of you. But I will correct you in justice, and will not let you go altogether unpunished.’» (Jeremiah, 30:11).

 God does not let go unpunished those whom He loves. And by punishing He does not destroy. Destruction is not a sign of love, but of hatred. LOVE IS THE FOUNDATION AND PREREQUISITE OF DISCIPLINE. Dear mothers and fathers, you that are reading this daily message; please, let me tell you that if you really love your children, you will be willing to discipline them. Love should be the foundation of the parental discipline. Your goal as a parent is to protect your children from the negative consequences that are inevitably caused by sin and disobedience. And God as our Heavenly Father also in interested in His children living a full life in obedience and holiness, and for this very reason He disciplines us. We will continue about it tomorrow! God bless you! Pastor Rufus Ajiboye