PROMISE #232 - AUGUST 20

"Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: For He maketh sore, and bindeth up: He woundeth, and His hands make whole." ~Job 5:17-18

​You may be reading today’s promise and thinking, “Why would I choose a Bible passage that talks about discipline and wounding as a Bible promise?" We rarely hear sermons on the Lord's discipline, and when we do, they often frame it as punishment from an angry God.

When many of us hear the word 'discipline,' we think of our life experiences with our parents, teachers, authority figures, etc. This does not typically stir warm feelings of love and tenderness but rather feelings of guilt, shame, and pain. In Hebrews 12:4-11, the writer urges us not to scorn the Lord's discipline, for God is dealing with us as His children; our heavenly Father is not punishing us in anger but in unconditional love.

The fact that we are disciplined is proof that we really do belong to God. The root of discipline is disciple, which is training fundamentally. God is training us to be like Jesus and to walk in His ways. The writer of Hebrews 12:4-11 admits that discipline is not pleasant at the time, but it produces the fruit of righteousness.

Today’s promise tells us that there is a promise of healing for all our wounds in our present suffering. My prayer is that we will see God’s discipline as separate from the discipline we received from authority figures.

I pray that we would value God’s loving discipline and submit to the Father of our spirits so we might experience the fullness of life. (Hebrews 12:9)

Prayer:

Father, thank You for taking the time to train me in the way I should go. Help me to see Your discipline thru the lens of Your unconditional love and not thru the broken lens of the fallen world I live in. You are a gracious Father indeed and I welcome Your loving correction that my life may produce a harvest of righteousness.

In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.