God Disciplines People He Loves

You have forgotten the encouraging words that call you his children:
“My child, don’t think the Lord’s discipline is worth nothing,
   and don’t stop trying when he corrects you.
The Lord disciplines those he loves,
   and he punishes everyone he accepts as his child.” Proverbs 3:11–12

So hold on through your sufferings, because they are like a father’s discipline. God is treating you as children. All children are disciplined by their fathers. If you are never disciplined (and every child must be disciplined), you are not true children. We have all had fathers here on earth who disciplined us, and we respected them. So, it is even more important that we accept discipline from the Father of our spirits so we will have life. Our fathers on earth disciplined us for a short time in the way they thought was best. But God disciplines us to help us, so we can become holy as he is. We do not enjoy being disciplined. It is painful at the time, but later, after we have learned from it, we have peace, because we start living in the right way. - Hebrews 12:5-11

Getting into trouble for doing wrong never feels good, especially when God disciplines us. God is Holy therefore He must discipline us. The positive side of getting punished for sin is that it shows God really loves us. His love is like our earthly parents’ love, when they punish us for doing what they told us not to do. When we break the laws like speeding, lying in court when under oath, or stealing, the judge does not let us get away with breaking the law. Our lawbreaking deserves punishment, and some may include getting a ticket, paying a fine, spending time in jail or doing community service.

God is the same way. When we break His rules, we must be punished. God punished Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden when they ate from the tree, He told them not to eat from. God’s punishment for Eve was for women to experience pain during childbirth and have men rule over them. Adam’s punishment was for men to work hard for food, it will not be easy, and he will die (Genesis 3:16-19). God cares about us and what we do so much that He wants us to learn and grow from His discipline. The pain does not feel good during the punishment, but it helps us to have peace during it because it shows God is working in us to develop character and helps us to be like Him.

Prayer of the day:

Dear heavenly Father,

We deserve punishment when we sin. Being punished does not feel good but You are working in us to help us be like You. You are very kind and full of mercy that is why You give us chances to change the way we live our lives. Please help us to respect You and obey Your commands. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen!