Blessed Discipline

August 8

(Psalm 94:12-23 NIV) “Blessed is the man you discipline, O Lord, the man you teach from your law; {13} you grant him relief from days of trouble, till a pit is dug for the wicked. {14} For the Lord will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance. {15} Judgment will again be founded on righteousness, and all the upright in heart will follow it. {16} Who will rise up for me against the wicked? Who will take a stand for me against evildoers? {17} Unless the Lord had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death. {18} When I said, "My foot is slipping," your love, O Lord, supported me. {19} When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul. {20} Can a corrupt throne be allied with you-- one that brings on misery by its decrees? {21} They band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death. {22} But the Lord has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge. {23} He will repay them for their sins and destroy them for their wickedness; the Lord our God will destroy them.”

(Proverbs 3:11-12 NIV) “My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke, {12} because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.”

(Hebrews 12:4-11 NIV) “In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. {5} And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, {6} because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son." {7} Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? {8} If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. {9} Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! {10} Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. {11} No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”

If God loves us, He will discipline us. Love will include discipline or it is not godly love. Parents who fail to discipline their children are failing to love their children and failing at being parents. Our heavenly Father’s love for us includes discipline, because God’s love is perfect love. No one enjoys receiving discipline, but we dare not reach a point where we despise it or resent it. Neither should we blow it off or make light of it. The pain of discipline is what produces growth and maturity in believers. Discipline is truly a blessing for the follower of Christ. It is not a blessing that you will likely find on the list of things promised to you for sending money to that television preacher, but it is indeed a blessing. Blessed discipline: say it out loud and accept it as such when it comes from our heavenly Father. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day