Before asking the first question, the instructions were to read Hebrews 12: 5-11. I have mixed the Message and the ESV versions:
"And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline,
but don’t be crushed by it either.
It’s the child He loves that He disciplines;
the child He embraces, He also corrects.
but don’t be crushed by it either.
It’s the child He loves that He disciplines;
the child He embraces, He also corrects.
God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children. This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training, the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God’s training so we can truly live? While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God’s holy best. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."
Question: When God points out growth areas in your life, are you more apt to shrug off His words, crumble in a heap underneath them or take them to heart with humility and confidence? Why?
Answer: Although I do not remember a time when I didn't know Jesus, looking back over my life, there are clearly marked moments of growth. Knowing and learning to recognize the discipline of God is a process in itself. As a younger person, I attributed a lot of hardships as the devil seeking to destroy me. I rebuked many attempts by God to grow me and ordered many messengers from Him to get behind my back. I also was so judgmental in attitudes I had toward others; I could not and would not hear them because they did not "look" or "sound" like God to me. The question Susie poses above follows the same pattern as the parable of the farmer sowing seeds in the field (Matthew 13: 3-9). Many times when God tried to discipline me, I shrugged it off. The seed blew away because it fell on shallow ears and a dry heart. There was nothing available to receive and nourish that seed of discipline. Other times I heard and even acknowledged that seed of discipline only to crumble and not know what to do. Instead of asking God for wisdom and trusting in His love for me, I let weeds of doubt and low self worth choke out the bigger picture; choke out the fact that a loving Father was trying to grow me. Currently in my life, I'm more likely to take the seed of discipline to heart. Not that it doesn't hurt, because I'd be lying if I said it didn't. But I'm no longer crushed by it, nor do I ignore it. The soil of my heart is more compliant to the discipline of God and when someone tells me something that hurts or offends, instead of being defensive, getting angry or chalking it up to the enemy, I lean in - I ask God if there is truth to what was said. If there is (and usually there is some truth) I bring it to the forefront of my prayers. I ask God to make me humble of heart, and to make me aware of the behavior, action or habit He is ready to change in my life. I also ask Him to make me sensitive to His promptings so I don't live my life in blind ignorance, but live in awareness of my actions and words. To be perfectly honest, if there is truth to the accusation it actually saddens me. I'm kind of appalled and even embarrassed by what's been pointed out - I feel exposed. But I remember who God is and I choose to ignore how I feel and lean in and onto a loving God trusting that God wants to work on something and He's perfectly capable of letting me know what He wants to do. I find that even if I'm not guilty of an accusation, I still learn something. Sometimes it's just to see that I've grown enough not to be crushed by an untruth! God wastes nothing.
God uses anything and anyone to accomplish His will in my life and in the lives of all believers. I've learned that He truly means what He says when He tells us in Isaiah that "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts."
The seed of discipline planted in a heart of good soil does indeed yield a bountiful harvest. A harvest of peace and righteousness and a life of marked by maturity in God. I want to be a woman loved and disciplined and for my life to reflect the discipline of God. A marked woman, if you will. A disciplined woman is indeed a loved and cherished woman. I place all confidence in the loving, consistent character of God.
The discipline of God is always marked by His love and mercy and there is no shame in His discipline.
