For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant,
but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness
to those who have been trained by it.
~ Hebrews 12:11
Good morning beautiful sister!
Isn’t it interesting that the words ‘discipline’ and ‘disciple’ look so similar? Consider the following passage: “The disciple is that one who has been taught or trained by the Master, who has come with his ignorance, superstition, and sin, to find learning, truth, and forgiveness from the Saviour.” *
Taught and trained, discipled and disciplined, by the Master! If we willingly submit our thoughts and ways to the Lord, He will exchange our ignorance for His truth and we will become more like Him!
It seems like a simple concept, but, my sister, it is oh so difficult! Even the Scriptures attest to that! ALL discipline seems painful! But let us take heart and remember that it is for the moment. I have a feeling that we sometimes drag out that moment for longer than we need to because of our rebellious and stubborn hearts.
Imagine, exchanging our ignorance for His truth! But wait, how can we know we’re ignorant, that is, lacking knowledge, when we don’t know we need that knowledge? How can we know that we don’t know?
I have a feeling that’s where discipline comes in. Discipline, in the form of God’s truth, teaches us. Sometimes that discipline involves our intentional pursuit of a goal, such as teaching ourselves to eat food that is good for us or to have an exercise routine to maintain our health. Other times, perhaps we learn to know what we didn’t know before through the consequences or fruit of our ignorance.
For example, you have probably read a little bit about my family, particularly my five sons. Five wonderful human beings; each one a precious gift from God! I don’t mean that lightly, at a young age in my life, I was told I would never be able to have children as a consequence of my sin, but that’s a story for another time.
Five sons. Five deep wells of joy, wonder, laughter and love. Also, five opportunities for worry, confusion, disagreement and tears. Because we all fall short.
The Lord has blessed my boys; they are good, honest, loyal and upstanding people, but so often, they have had to learn through what they suffer. That is the price of stubbornness, foolishness and pride. It grieves my heart to watch them struggle. I long with everything I have to rush to their aid, but they are no longer children, dependent on me or their father.
But, if that longing is in me, how much MORE is it true of my heavenly Father? In His perfect love for us, is it difficult for Him to watch our struggles? Maybe not, since our Father knows the end from the beginning! He knows just how much discipline will turn our hearts to yielding the peaceful fruits of righteousness! Therefore we must trust in His training! Both for ourselves and our children!
There is always something going on in my family; the Lord is working mightily to train us. (even though some of us are less trainable than others, believe it or not) It’s not been easy. It’s not been pleasant. But I call to mind what He has done for me and my family already and I am not ignorant of God’s faithfulness and love that wants to bring all of us together to dwell with Him.
God is not willing that any should perish, so He continues to train and discipline even those who claim to have no knowledge or love for Him. He is the ultimate Father! Let’s not get in His way.
We all fall short; we see it in ourselves, we see it in those we love most dearly. But we have hope because God loves us enough to keep us on the right track, even if He has to put bumpers in our lane to keep us out of the gutter. (Think about it, boundaries are a form of discipline)
So, my dear sister, I have encouraged myself and I hope that I have encouraged you as well! As God’s child, allow yourself to be trained by the One who created you and knows just what you need!
As a parent, trust God to train the ones you love! Your loving hands are not really big enough for that job, but His are!
Let us continue in prayer for one another, that we may all grow in the grace and knowledge of our God and trust Him with all that we hold dear.
With love, your sister, Celeste
* The Discipline of Discipleship, V. Raymond Edman, CS Lewis Institute, cslewisinstitute.org