God is good, and he is love. Part of God’s goodness and love is his chastening. God chastens those whom he loves (Hebrews 12:6).
When God chastens us, we may feel convicted by the Holy Spirit. We may lose our peace. We may have strained relationships or problems in our circumstances. We might even face health problems (John 5:14).
Not every problem or challenge we face is a result of chastening from God. Sometimes we face problems because of the sins of others. We might be persecuted for the gospel. Maybe we face trouble because of the general evil in the world. Perhaps we made wrong dietary or lifestyle choices. Possibly we are under Satanic attack. These problems are not necessarily because of God’s chastening.
The chastening of God is only one category of problem that we can face.
It’s important to be able to distinguish what is the chastening of God and what is a problem resulting from other causes. There is no point in blaming God for things he did not do. When facing a problem, we need to stop and think. Prayer, meditation on the word of God, and counsel from mature Christians can help us discern if we are being chastened by God or not.
If we confess our sins God will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). But the consequences of the sins might remain. Sometimes consequences for sin include the chastening of God.
Chastening feels painful (Hebrews 12:11). Chastening hurts.
Our culture does not generally like authority, correction, chastening, discipline, or painful consequences for sin. This has affected many aspects of our culture especially over the past 50 years. This can affect us, so that we may not like chastening. We need to renew our minds with the word of God and by the Holy Spirit so we know that chastening is a sign of love and goodness.
The Bible is full of examples of chastening. Parents are commanded to chasten their children (Proverbs 13:24, 22:15, 23:13-14, and 29:15). God chastens his people in many places throughout the Bible (2 Samuel 7:14). In the New Testament it’s the same, according the Hebrews 12:6-11).
The Bible says the father chastens the child he loves (Hebrews 12:6). God says if a parent doesn’t love a child, he won’t chasten him.
Chastening is a good thing because it keeps us on the right path. It protects us from evil and destruction.
Avoiding Dangers
There are several dangers we must avoid when we are chastened by God.
We should not despise chastening (Hebrews 12:5). It’s easy to despise chastening because it’s painful, and we don’t like pain. But pain is sometimes necessary because it can protect us from death. We need to understand that chastening is for our good. It’s not a bad thing. God is not torturing us or tormenting us when he chastens is. Instead this is a sign of his love and care, and it is for our benefit.
We should not become discouraged when we are rebuked or chastened by God (Hebrews 12:5). When chastened we might think we can do nothing right, and we always mess up. The solution to this is to look to Jesus. He is the beginning and end of our faith. We need his strength, not our own strength.
We might become bitter at God when we are chastened. A person might resent the painful discipline and think God is out to get him. But this is completely false. Again, the Bible says the opposite – that chastisement is a sign of love. We need to re-orient our thinking.
Results of Chastening
The Bible says that chastening yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness (Hebrews 12:11). We receive righteousness as a gift by faith, but chastening produces righteousness within us. Chastening causes God’s righteousness to be worked out and manifested in our lives. Righteousness is peaceful because it causes us to have peace with God and with God’s will. True peace comes into our lives when we are rightly ordered with God’s will. Apart from God we cannot have true peace.
Chastening causes us to partake of God’s holiness (Hebrews 12:10). God wants us to be holy people. He finds holiness attractive. Holiness is the defining characteristic of his Spirit, who is called the Holy Spirit. God wants his Holy Spirit to move among his people, not an unclean or evil spirit. Holiness is worked among as as God chastens us.
When we are chastened by God, we should confess and repent. We should pray (Isa 26:16). And we should turn into God’s way. When we do, we will be blessed, and we will understand why God’s chastening is a sign of his love.
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