Sunday, March 4th

Today's passage from the Chronological Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Numbers 21-22

Today's scripture focus is Hebrews 12:7-11

⁷ Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? ⁸ If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. ⁹ Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! ¹⁰ Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. ¹¹ 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.

For some reason I`ve always struggled with this portion of scripture, and others like it.  For some reason I have twisted this passage a bit - and I feel like it`s condescending, this image of God disciplining us, like we`re five years old or something.

But that`s not the point.

I love my children. And it is in no way condescending for me to train them, to discipline them, to punish them.  It`s not a sign of disrespect.  It is, in fact, the opposite.  It`s love.  Plain and simple.

And God disciplines us, similarly to how we discipline our children.

When bad things comes into our lives, we have to realize that at minimum, God allowed them, at maximum, He directly caused them.  But, whether He caused them, or permitted them - there is always a reason.

MacArthur gives us four reasons (emphasis mine)....

Purpose number one retribution, some discipline that comes into your life, some negative circumstances, some on the surface bad things, trials that come into your life are because you have sinned and need to be punished because God is Holy and wants his children holy. In other words, it is retribution to create an aversion to sin because of its painful consequences. We saw that last time, we saw David as an illustration. David suffered immensely in his life as God was punishing him or chastening him for his sin that he might learn to be holy so that he could honor God and be blessed.

Secondly, God brings suffering into our lives for prevention. We saw that in the case of Paul, God actually thrust a spear as it were through the very heart of Paul, a thorn in the flesh he called it to keep him from being proud. God brings things into our lives to humble us. Some of His discipline is because we would sin and we would harm ourselves and dishonor God if He didn't cause certain things to happen in our lives that restrain us.

Thirdly, God brings suffering into our lives for the purpose of education so that we may in that trial learn something about ourselves and something about the greatness of our God. The illustration of that we use was Job, Job came to a truer understanding of himself through his terrible suffering and a greater understanding of God then he had ever had before. It is in the trials, it is in the pain and sorrow, and the suffering that we discern who our God is more clearly.

Then fourthly, God brings suffering into our life for the purpose of anticipation. Because we need to long for heaven, we need to have a more heavenly perspective, we need to be loosened up from earthly attachments, and we saw John the Apostle as the classic illustration of that. John suffering greatly as an exile suffering broken hearted over the demise of five of the seven churches in Asia Minor. John, in sorrow upon sorrow, because of what he was seeing was given a glimpse of the future, a glimpse of eternal glory and said, "Even so come Lord Jesus." He'd had enough of earth's sorrows.

The way we react to God`s discipline can thwart those purposes.
We can misjudge or despise (take lightly in v5) God`s discipline - whether by hardening ourselves against God, by complaining, or by constantly questioning "Why me?".  We become so focused on the problem itself that we can`t see the purpose behind it.

We can also simply lose heart (also v5) and just give up, because it`s more than they can bear. Our faith fails and we doubt everything about God that we`ve ever known.

The way we can keep from either despising or despairing, is to realize that our suffering is evidence of God`s love for us (v6).  He doesn`t enjoy our suffering, but He knows that it is for our benefit - and He loves us too much to withhold that from us.

Not only is our suffering proof of God`s love, but it is also proof of our sonship/daughtership (v6).
Discipline in the Christian life doesn't come in spite of sonship it comes because of it....


This is something to keep in mind now; the common reaction is to be envious of the person who escapes suffering. The common reaction is be envious of the person who escapes suffering when we really ought to be envious of the person who suffers. Don't envy unbelievers; don't envy the false teachers who show nothing but prosperity and comfort. Verse 8 says; "If you're without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons," don't envy that.


The reason for God`s discipline is that we may have life in the fullest (v9) and for our holiness (v10) and righteousness (v11).

Let the rains of disappointment come if they water the plants of spiritual grace; let the winds of adversity blow if they serve to root more securely the trees that God has planted. Let the sun of prosperity be eclipsed if that brings me closer to the true light of life, so I welcome discipline....


As the bee sucks honey out of the bitter flower, so faith can extract blessing from trouble. It can turn water into wine and make bread out of rock. It hopes and says triumphantly with Job, "Though he slay me yet will I trust Him? And when he has tried me," he said, "I'll come forth like gold." In our pain and not our pleasure we learn the deliverance of God and are made to know life and Holiness.

Remember Mary? Martha's sister, she stood at the empty tomb and she wept at the very thing designed to bring her greatest joy, the resurrection. She had the present view, not the afterward, don't stand in the middle of your trouble and weep at the very thing God has designed to produce ultimately your greatest joy.

It goes against every natural inclination in our body.  But we need to get our focus off the suffering itself, and onto the reason behind the suffering, onto the life and holiness that will be produced as a result, because of God`s love for us, His very children.

Tomorrow's scripture focus: Hebrews 12:12-13

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Numbers 23-25