Trained by God's Chastening

"Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."
Hebrews 12:11 (NKJV)

I’m not sure any of us enjoy being disciplined by the Lord but let me encourage with a few important things to remember.  The first is that if you are being disciplined by the Lord it is a good thing because it means God loves you.  Proverbs 3:12 says that the Lord corrects those He loves.  So, know that God loves you enough to not let you easily stay in your sin.  And that’s a good thing!  Secondly, even though the correction of the Lord is hard right now and even painful, as this verse in Hebrews describes, don’t miss that there is something very good God is producing in your life through it and that is the peaceable fruit of righteousness.  Part of that is being molded in the image of God’s Son as described in Romans 8:29. Isn’t is so encouraging that the discipline you are experiencing is actually doing something in your heart?  I think of a teenage child who is rightly corrected by a parent for being out past curfew.   Perhaps part of the consequence is extra chores around the house and having limited privileges.  IF he learns the importance of obeying the rules, it will all be worth it in the end.  The lesson to be learned is so much deeper than being home for curfew.  Through that small lesson that parent is teaching his child that it is important to operate within the guidelines given to him because life is full of guidelines.  Hopefully this lesson will carry on as the child enters the workplace or college or starts a family.  Being on time is important.
The Lord is doing the same in our life as He disciplines us.  He is trying to teach us a lesson that will guide us, instruct us, and train us for the days to come.  IF we learn the lesson there will be a peaceable fruit of righteousness for us to enjoy.  What a blessing to know that there is good God is working out God’s discipline.  May enjoy the fruit of the lesson we are being taught.  But don’t miss the last part of the verse which says, “to those who have been trained by it.”  Do we have a pliable heart to actually receive instruction from the Lord or do we have a bad attitude as God tries to teach us these lessons for godly living?  We need to have a teachable heart in order to enjoy the fruit.  
Let me leave you with this friendly reminder from God’s Word:

Anchored in Christ,
Aaron R. Force