DaySpring Daily Word of Inspiration: Hebrews 12:11 – 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.
It never feels good to be in trouble, on punishment or held accountable for something you did wrong. When I was a child I used to think that it was something parents got excited about; the ability to make me feel even worse about my immaturity and lack of common sense. I hated being on punishment and getting spankings (you may know these as whoopings). If you’re anything like me, you share in my sentiments. Thanks for feeling my pain.
Over time as I aged, even into adulthood, it still didn’t feel good to have consequences for some of my actions. Whether it was on the job or in dealing with my relationships, it never felt like there was any point but to get on my nerves.
Looking back over all of the years of structure, discipline and boundaries my parents had set up, I can honestly say it was all for the greater good. There was purpose and prominence in their care for me. Their experiences in life helped them to make sound decisions on what was good for me, what lessons I needed to learn and why they would be so important to my future.
While dealing with certain jobs, the discipline with work etiquette would be a solid foundation that could be the difference between getting a job and keeping a job in the future. There was an intention to help me not only from my employer of the job I had, but also for the jobs I would get after that job.
It never feels good at the time when you’re being coached and instructed on how to do life the correct way. We have our own thoughts and ideas about what we think we should be doing or able to do and we even think that we’re going to be the one who can reinvent the wheel and make things go our way. Let’s kill that myth now: You will never be able to reinvent the wheel, however you can always put on new tires.
In the same way, we have to realize that these lessons (and being put on the right track – i.e. discipline) are for us to learn from and reflect upon. These experiences help to shape us and lead us away from the dangers of life that discipline reminds us of. Think about it, if you never got disciplined when you were doing something wrong as an adolescent and you became an adult who was constantly in jail or in deadly situations, you’d continue to produce struggle and strife in your life because you didn’t know any better. Since you were always able to do whatever you wanted, now you’re facing consequences for every wrong action you make.
There is something actually good to be said about being corrected and disciplined. YOU NEVER FORGET!! As you age, it will be a constant reminder to do what is right and you will know that making the good decision will save you the trouble and headache of a consequence.
The same is true with God! We’re corrected and spanked by God because of our bad initial decisions. His discipline is used to help us get back on track but to also help us remember that we can get the consequence or benefits of our actions. God’s hope is for us to learn our lessons through his discipline so that it produces the actions of remembrance; to avoid punishment for our actions. It should help us to produces mindsets, attitudes, hearts and decision making that is based on the lessons we’ve learned by being trained in righteousness.
As we approach this weekend we want you to keep in mind that you’re disciplined in the faith with purpose. God is trying to get you to act in accordance to his teachings. When we veer from that path, He has to put us back on track. The question today would be, are you learning the lessons that God is disciplining you for OR are you continuing to have the strife in your life with getting spankings? Remember a lack of discipline will have you doing any and everything but with discipline comes the attributes of your teacher and what they know is best for your life. If you’re experiencing more disappointments in your life than usual, maybe it’s because you haven’t been taking your teachers advice and the disciplining is to get you back to where you should be.
We pray that you don’t have to keep getting spanked to recognize that you’re being told to do something the right way. God help us to be better listeners and followers of your principles so we don’t have to experience the discipline you will give to us because you love us so much that you won’t just sit by and let us keep messing up. Let our lessons be learned and our futures trouble free as we grow to a rich spiritual maturity in you. In Jesus name, AMEN!
P.S. The Sunday is our Apologetic event at DaySpring Christian Center. Come and experience a service unlike any you’ve probably ever been to before. Have an opportunity to ask questions, get your concerns addressed and reconnect with the Father so that you can get passed the spankings and onto living as he would want.
Nothing is stopping you, come hear what the bible says about your life and how to live it, so you too can avoid the punishment that comes with a lack of discipline. We hope to see you there.