Endure trials for the sake of discipline. God is treating you as children; for what child is there whom a parent does not discipline? If you do not have that discipline in which all children share, then you are illegitimate and not his children. Moreover, we had human parents to discipline us, and we respected them. Should we not be even more willing to be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share his holiness. Now, discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Hebrews 12:7-11

We endure suffering when we are chastised by Our Father. Just when our situation seems hopeless and hardest to bear, tiny signs of life appear that will soon burst into bloom. Take the toughest issue you have to deal with, in the most difficult place and rely on the Spirit to solve it. Know that God, in His grace, can cause His beauty to be seen in you.

No chastening seems pleasant at the time. Yet, when it is all over, we are much better for it. The chastening we receive quietly produces the fruit of real goodness in the characters of those who accept the discipline with the right spirit.

God’s hand of discipline is a hand of love.

Our Daily Bread – August 3, 2004