So, yesterday morning had me turning back over and over and again to Hebrews 12:7–11 (GNT), “Endure what you suffer as being a father’s punishment; your suffering shows that God is treating you as his children. Was there ever a child who was not punished by his father? If you are not punished, as all his children are, it means you are not real children but bastards. In the case of our human fathers, they punished us and we respected them. How much more, then, should we submit to our spiritual father and live! Our human fathers punished us for a short time, as it seemed right to them; but God does it for our own good, so that we may share his holiness. When we are punished, it seems to us at the time something to make us sad, not glad. Later, however, those who have been disciplined by such punishment reap the peaceful reward of a righteous life.”
PERSONAL NOTE;
No one enjoys being punished and for some of us, we can’t wait for the period to pass. I am all for process but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to go through. My consolation always is the end product; I particularly like that in the above Scripture, “……a righteous life.” That alone makes it worthwhile. I know what I went through in the disciplinary hands of my earthly Father, and I turned out better for it. How much more my Heavenly Father? We are disciplined from a place of love. For most of us, the best version of ourselves evolved from such seasons of discipline. I remember asking God two days ago if ‘this’ was not too much for me, and telling Him I didn’t know if I could hold on for much longer. An answer (which I believe was His) came through a friend later that night.
I recall when I used to tell my subordinates at work that I was being hard on them because I knew they could do better, and that it would be impossible to be mediocre under my watch; that one way or the other, they must be so much better after working with me. Did it yield fruits? Yes! Was it easy? No! Did I feel fulfilled after that? Definitely!
Guys, most good things don’t come easy, especially when it comes to developing virtues, character building, breaking toxic habits, forming positive habits, changing mindsets, imbibing proper ethics, etc… Discipline is an integral ingredient without which all else falls apart. Discipline can be administered by someone else but there is also the place of self-discipline also known as self-control.
Proverbs 25:28 (NLT) says, “A person without self-control is as defenseless as a city with broken-down walls.”
Can you picture that? No? Let me help you; just imagine your house had no walls or doors or gates, could you live comfortably there? I would hope not. Why then do we live our lives with no structure whatsoever; no boundaries, no filters, no principles, anything and everything goes.
I want to believe I am not the only person who shudders at the level of indiscipline in our society today, little wonder the level of decay. Why then are some surprised at the outcome? What were they really expecting; do you expect corn after planting mango seeds? Does one reap bananas after planting and preparing for a harvest of oranges?
If we want sanity and order to return to our society, we’ve got to be willing to pay the price of discipline and its likes. It’s better to sweat it out first and enjoy later. Yes!
Put your body under strict orders now to save your soul for eternity.
God will help us.
If at the end of the day all you have is God, then you have more than enough.
LOVE LIVES HERE
#God is Love#
#diaryofanunconventionallady#
#missbarnabas#
#daughterofencouragement#
