The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon

“For the moment, all discipline seems not to be pleasant, but painful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”

—Hebrews 12:11

A child rarely enjoys discipline, but we all know that if it’s not given, the child will be poorly equipped for life and a terror to those around him.

Parents give discipline to prepare children for the responsibilities and difficulties that will inevitably come in life, but kids don’t understand that in the moment. They only know it’s unpleasant. It often takes years before a child is old enough to understand and to be grateful for that discipline.

The same is true of us and the way the Lord disciplines. There are things in us that will not serve us or the kingdom of God well in the long–term.

Today, the discipline only feels like painful punishment. We don’t understand all that is coming in our lives and how we need to grow to face those things in a godly way that brings glory to God and does not destroy us. In actuality, that painful discipline is training.

“My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord or loathe his rebuke, for whom the Lord loves he disciplines, just as a father disciplines the son in whom he delights” (Hebrews 12:5–9; Proverbs 3:11–12).

The Lord will not leave us with attitudes unbefitting of a child of the king or that render us unable to complete the work laid out for us. He will keep training the bad out and the good in until we take in the lessons.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download