To Encourage You

Hebrews 12:9-11 “We have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

Most everyone has been known to start out a sentence with the following words: “It seems to me . . .”  These words are usually followed by a statement about our perspective on one issue or another.  Do you realize that God never says such a thing? He never says, “it seems to me” about anything.  That’s because He knows absolutely everything about everything and what He says about anything is the absolute truth. According to the dictionary, to “seem,” means “to give the impression or sensation of being something or having a particular quality; used to make a statement or description of one’s thoughts, feelings, or actions less assertive or forceful.”  It has similar meaning to the phrase, “from my perspective,” or “as I see it.” The problem is that our perspective is often very flawed, for unlike God, we definitely don’t know everything, and although something can seem right in our own eyes, it may not be “right” in truth. The Bible talks about it in the following way: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death” (Proverbs 14:12).  

In the verses above from Hebrews 12 some form of the word “seem” is used twice.  The first is talking about fathers that discipline their children.  It says that our own fathers typically disciplined us “as it seemed best to them.”  However, was it indeed the best? Probably not. Did I discipline my children the best way possible since I did what seemed best to me at the time? Definitely not.  Looking back, I now know that there are things I should have done differently, but as they say, “hindsight is 20/20.” Foresight, unfortunately, most certainly is not! 

Then the verses above turn to the perspective of the one that is being disciplined, and in this case, it’s talking about the discipline that comes from our Father in heaven. Again, it tells us that “all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant.” It’s talking about how when God applies His discipline to our lives it is painful. He knows exactly where to place His supernatural finger on us in a way that will make it hurt.  It is never pleasant. It is never something that we in any way enjoy at the time.  Yet it’s all under the sovereign control of our omniscient heavenly Father, and in whatever means He uses to discipline us, it’s the perfect thing from His perfect perspective to produce the very best result.  And it isn’t something that just “seems to Him,” to be best for us. Rather it most definitely is best for us, for He knows the perfect way to teach His children, and He disciplines them in the way that is best for them in His perfect love. 

So, if you are a believer, what hard things are you facing today? What is there in your life that seems painful from your perspective? It may be a painful trial that seems to make absolutely no sense.  Another question: Is there anything that you are facing that is producing a reaction that is not in any way Christlike? Are there things coming from your heart and life in your reaction to your trial that you just don’t like at all? If so, remember that the words above tell us that God’s discipline has an ultimate purpose of producing His own holiness and righteousness in our lives. And just like the dross comes out of the gold only by applying heat in the process of refinement, God must likewise pass us through the fire to burn out the unholiness and unrighteousness in our life.

The wonderful fruits that are marks of His Holy Spirit within us are often the product of the careful but painful pruning that the Father is applying to our lives (John 15).  He knows each one of us intimately. He knows what is the very best for us like no one else, including ourselves, possibly can.  Something to remember when there are hard things that touch our lives that just don’t seem right and that just don’t seem to make any sense, for things are often not at all like they seem. In all of it, what matters most is the perfect perspective of our loving Heavenly Father Who is working to produce in us the very likeness of His only begotten Son.