God's Discipline Produces a Harvest

 Again this week we feature an excerpt from The Promises of God ©1998 by Discipleship Publications International. This week’s post is from a chapter by Barbara Porter, women's leader in the South Florida church.

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. (Hebrews 12:11)

[In the opening of the chapter Barbara described a very challenging time she and husband, John, went through in dealing with medical problems developed by their children. Then she writes what follows.]

I remember wrestling with Psalm 119 many times and meditating on verses 75-76, “I know, O Lord, that your laws are righteous, and in faithfulness you have afflicted me. May your unfailing love be my comfort…”.  Although we could not cling to any particular medicine or treatment, we could most assuredly trust that God was allowing us to undergo this trial. It was all happening, not in spite of God’s faithfulness, but because of God’s faithfulness. Nevertheless, it was difficult to “feel” God’s unfailing love and comfort. We literally had to decide to believe what the Bible teaches and trust in the very nature of God, that he is love. We had to remember that this discipline would produce a harvest of righteousness and peace if we allowed ourselves to be trained by it.

Training, by definition, is something rigorous, something that stretches the trainee emotionally and/or physically. We can all remember times when we disagreed with certain aspects of the training we received from our physical parents. For example, we can recall punishments we thought were too extreme. We can think back on times when the discipline our parents meted out seemed to be for their good. The incredible thing about God’s discipline is that it is always exactly what we need and God promises it is always for our good.

I can honestly say that I am thankful for the discipline God gave us. My faith has increased tremendously as I have seen God strengthen our children...Moreover, I have seen God change my heart in ways that perhaps no other situation would have allowed. My sinful nature is to be too hard on people, to be “business-like” and unloving. God knew that I desperately needed to grow in sensitivity, patience, and humility... I know I am still far from being what God wants me to be, but I have been profoundly changed by God’s discipline and I am extremely grateful for it.