Hardship Is Discipline / David Jeremiah

Hardship Is Discipline My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction; for whom the Lord loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights. Proverbs 3:11-12   Pastor James Galea loves holidays and plans them a year in advance. When COVID-19 kept canceling his plans, he experienced repeated disappointments. Then he thought of Hebrews 12:7: “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children” (NIV).

Recommended Reading: Hebrews 12:3-11

“Though I don’t like to admit it, I think another cancelled holiday was actually healthy for me,” he wrote. “It was as if God was disciplining to show me how I had turned a good thing into a god thing—something I was using to satisfy my ultimate satisfaction and longing. As I called the hotel to cancel the booking, it felt like the question God was asking me was ‘Can you find your rest in Christ, even when the holidays are not there?’”1 What insight! If you’re facing any hardship today, large or small, let God use it to grow you in grace and godliness.   Consciously choosing to see hardship (small though it was) through this lens began to change a cancelled holiday into a spiritual experience. It became a reminder that God is my Dad and that he wants me to grow up more and more in my trust of him. James Galea