DISCIPLINE FROM GOD
Background
The Bible teaches clearly that the various challenges or hardships Christians face may at times result from God's choosing to discipline us, in order to make us more faithful to Him. From time to time, a conversation will reveal problems and troubles that seem to indicate that God is dealing with the inquirer in this way.
Discipline from the Lord Is a Scriptural Concept
"Blessed is the man you discipline, O Lord; the man you teach from your law; you grant him relief from days of trouble" (Psalm 94:12–13, NIV).
"My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in" (Proverbs 3:11–12, NIV).
Billy Graham comments: "The Bible says, 'The Lord disciplines those he loves.' If life were all easy, wouldn't we become flabby? When a ship's carpenter needed timber to make a mast for a sailing vessel, he did not cut it in the valley, but upon the mountainside where the trees had been buffeted by the winds. These trees, he knew, were the strongest of all. Hardship is not our choice; but if we face it bravely, it can toughen the fiber of our souls. "God does not discipline us to subdue us but to condition us for a life of usefulness and blessedness. In His wisdom, He knows that an uncontrolled life is an unhappy life, so He puts reins on our wayward souls that they may be directed into the paths of righteousness."
Discipline Is Desirable, Considering the Alternatives
"So he gave them what they asked for, but sent a wasting disease upon them" (Psalm 106:15, NIV).
"I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize" (1 Corinthians 9:27,
NIV). God Has Good Reasons for Disciplining Us
1. He wants to lead us to repentance: "Yet now I am happy, not because