‘Loving Discipline'

Daily Devotional–Thursday, March 11, 2021

“To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction.” (Proverbs 12:1)

Wow…now that is blunt! None of us appreciates being called ‘stupid,’ but according to this proverb, we should all seriously consider whether the shoe fits. Why? Because how many of us truly ‘love discipline?’ Bottom line, any growth we hope to make—skills and knowledge we hope to acquire—involve a level of ‘correction.’ We all know that a certain level of practice and study are required to achieve growth, yet we still resist the discipline that accompanies it.
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The Bible tells us that God disciplines his children—in fact, it demonstrates the legitimacy of our relationship; “the LORD disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child” (Hebrews 12:6). This is not because God is unfeeling or loves to dish out punishment; He understands, better than we do ourselves, that there are times in life that we need correction. So, today, if you struggle in this area, ask God to help you appreciate His discipline; whether it ‘feels’ like it or not, we can always ‘know’ that it is because of God’s great love for us and His desire that we continue to learn that He provides correction when needed.
~ Pastor Jane