Sweet Discipline

“My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline and don’t give up when he corrects you, for the Lord disciplines those He loves and punishes each one He accepts as His child” (Heb.12:5).

One of the most pervasive beliefs people carry with them into a relationship with God is that He will make life safe and comfortable. And there is no shortage of preachers who are quick to peddle that sentiment in print and the pulpit to an eager audience. But the idea that a life lived in pursuit of Christ should be safe and comfortable would be a foreign concept to the men and women who knew Jesus most intimately, his disciples. Most of them left everything they knew to join him. They faced persecution, ridicule and alienation from their communities; many of them joined Jesus in dying a martyr’s death. And they didn’t walk into this blindly. Jesus himself warned the disciples that in this world they would have trouble, “but take heart, for I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Another time, he stated in no uncertain terms that "if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.” (Luke 9:23-24). This sounds like a far cry from the type of life the health and wealth preachers are hawking.

So why is it such a surprise when life seems to spin out of control and everything we have found comfort and confidence in are shaken? Why is our first impulse to assess our lives and look for the sin which God must be punishing us for, or to throw up our hands and cry “no fair” to God? Do we really believe that Jesus came to bring us peace and comfort? Have we chosen to follow him because he offers us the best benefits package? Or do we follow him because there is simply no where else to turn – he is the only one who can breath life into us and bring hope and meaning to this broken world?

We shouldn’t be surprised when life doesn’t go as we planned, when our bank account or our health is shaken. These things can easily become idols and why would a loving, jealous God allow us to blithely hold onto things that compete with Him for our allegiance? No, trials in this life are not necessarily a curse; they are often the mark of God’s loving hands on our life, the fingers of the potter molding us into vessels He can use to pour hope and healing in a parched and weary world. Though these trials are seldom welcome and almost never comfortable, they can be exactly what we need to grow and mature.

A friend of mine recently took a tour of a winery just outside of Santa Barbara. As they were walking through the vineyard, the guide said that in order to get the very best fruit from the vines, they literally have to put the plants into a state of distress. He explained that when the vine thinks that it’s going to die, it will pull hard from the soil, deepening its root system and sucking up as much of the nutrients and minerals as it can. In the same way, during our seasons of distress we often experience the greatest level of spiritual growth and maturity because we lean into God and allow Him to sustain us. “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” (Heb.12:12).

So don’t give up when life doesn’t go as you planned. Rather than resenting God for not protecting you from the pain, have gratitude that He finds you worth nurturing.