ESOCS Devotional 7 March 2025 – God’s Discipline Proves His Love
MEMORY VERSE:“For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.” Hebrews 12:6 NLT
TEXT: HEBREWS 11:1–16
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. 4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. 5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:
“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,
Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
6 For whom the Lord loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives.”
7 If[d] you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 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.
12 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.
14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: 15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; 16 lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright.
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Today’s passage addresses the difficulties of the Lord’s discipline in a very pastoral manner. The word of God explains in verse 11 that discipline does seem painful for the moment. He does know how hard it is to endure God’s chastisement. However, the pain of discipline is not an excuse for us to avoid it. He also reminds us that while things may seem painful at the moment, the good that discipline produces will far outweigh our temporary pain. For it will result in the “peaceable fruit of righteousness.” This fruit will last forever.
In our sinful condition, we hate to be disciplined. We do not like to be punished or submit to rules that are designed for our own good. We do not like to endure hardship today even though we know it may bring good later on. So much do we hate discipline that we often misunderstand the purposes of strife and hardship in our lives. Sometimes we begin to think that God does not truly love us if we are suffering. Sometimes we might even doubt that we are truly His children.
However, the suffering endured by the apostles and disciples of old proved that they were in fact, sons of God. For the Lord disciplines only those whom He loves (12:5–6). Therefore, He calls them (and us) to endure the discipline of God (v. 7). This discipline is for our good, so that we might share in His holiness (v. 10).
Which do you think you would prefer: for God to discipline your life or for God to ignore you? As uncomfortable as discipline certainly is, it has a purpose. The Lord uses it to strip away our idols of distraction. He uses it to foster the fruit of Christ-like righteousness in our lives. In fact, the discipline of the Lord is a protective force in our lives that is often intended to preserve our lives.
Finally, love endures all things, even suffering, because it understands that suffering is frequently used by God to discipline us, and such discipline proves His love for us (Heb. 12:7-11). In our tragedies, we look for how God is shaping us, for it is His loving intent to use all things for our good and for His glory (Rom. 8:28).
CHALLENGES
- Think of a time God prompted you to repent from sin or ask for forgiveness. What are one or two things God produced in you through that experience?
PRAYER POINT
- Lord, help me to endure and treasure all your disciplines in my life because I know it will foster the fruit of righteousness in me. Amen.
FURTHER READING: Joshua 10:17–43; 11:1–15; Hebrews 12:17-29
ESOCS Devotional 7 March 2025
