UPDATED Today’s AMI QT Devotional, first posted on November 4, 2013, is provided by Pastor David Kwon who heads Journey Community Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. He is a graduate of Drexel University (BS) and Columbia International University (M.Div.).
Devotional Thought for This Morning
Who Really Wants to be Disciplined? Not Me.
Psalm 94:12-15 (NIV)
Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord, and whom you teach out of your law,
13 to give him rest from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked. 14 For the Lord will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage; 15 for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.
Tom Landry, former coach of The Dallas Cowboys, once said, “The job of the football coach is to make men do what they don’t want to do, in order to achieve what they’ve always wanted to be.” As true as that may be, very few players are particularly fond of their coach when he institutes a grueling three-a-day practice schedule. Likewise, I’ve yet to meet a child who really believes his parents when they say, “This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you.” or “I’m doing this because I love you.” Come on, who really wants to be disciplined?
Human aversion to discipline is an age-old reality. Even those who choose to endure it are often doing just that—enduring it. But in Psalm 94, the Psalmist says the disciplined are blessed (or “happy”) because God’s discipline points to his commitment to his people—his unwillingness to abandon us when we are found lacking or out of shape. Sometimes God’s discipline looks like that of a coach—when He pushes us and stretches us to uncomfortable limits to train us to be more like Christ. Other times, discipline is a bit graver when God, as our Father, must rebuke and correct us when we err. Often this comes through God allowing trying circumstances—like the COVID-19 pandemic that is affecting our lives—into our lives and sustaining us through them.
Either way, we can rejoice as the Psalmist did in God’s faithfulness to us knowing that no matter how out of shape he finds us or how much we misbehave, his commitment to us is unending and his love for us is demonstrated in his patience to discipline us. With this perspective we can truly experience what Richard Foster dubbed a “celebration of discipline.” Important words to remember as we enter a post COVID-19 world full of uncertainties. May we come out of it as better human beings and children of God.
Prayer: Dear God, thank You for so loving me that You are willing to discipline me to make me better, that is, holier in my actual state. Thank You also for my permanent standing in Christ in that I am always holy through Your Son. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Isaiah 4
Lunch Break Study
Read Hebrews 12:5-13 (NIV): And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” 7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. 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 spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order 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. 12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.
Questions to Consider
- What kinds of things does the writer of Hebrews say we should endure as discipline? What are some things God has used in your life to discipline you?
- According to the passage, why does God discipline us?
- What is the end result of divine discipline? Why is this a great source of encouragement?
Are there situations in your life you need to submit to God, welcoming his discipline in anticipation of what it will accomplish? Offer those things to God and ask for His strength to endure.
Notes
- The writer says that “hardships” should be endured as discipline. Hardship is a broad term that can include just about any situation of difficulty. The important point to remember is the sovereignty of God. He is in control of all things. Therefore, if He allows difficulties of any kind in our lives, it’s because He has a purpose in doing so, and He promises to work it all together for our good.
- Because He loves us (vs. 6); Because we are His children (vs. 6); So that we may share in his holiness (vs. 10) – to purge us of our sins and purify us to be more like Christ.
- Righteousness and peace (vs. 11); healing (vs. 13) God’s discipline leads to us being more like Christ – walking in the righteousness and peace He affords us as we are healed from the brokenness of sin.
Evening Reflection
Proverbs 15:32 tells us that “If you reject discipline, you only harm yourself; but if you listen to correction, you grow in understanding” (NLT). While discipline isn’t the most fun thing in the world, it is a means God’s grace. Our loving Father uses the very brokenness we’ve created in our sin to purify us and train us for righteousness. Spend some time thanking God for his faithfulness in the difficult circumstances you may be facing. Acknowledge that He is in control and purifying you through them. Ask Him to grant you understanding as He enables you to endure.