May 23rd, 2022

God Isn't Punishing You

Job 5:17 NIV

"Blessed is the one whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty."

      Over the years, I'm sure we can all look back and see the hands that have stepped in and disciplined us. Both of my parents were disciplinarians (as they should be). I have seen discipline from the hand of my grandmother who was a huge part of my raising. I encountered many disciplines at the hands of a strict, but very wise and successful volleyball coach. I discipline my children every single day of their lives (really, more than I'd like but two and three are tough ages!). While discipline is necessary for growth in all aspects of our lives, at the time it might feel more like punishment when we're the ones being disciplined. When Job lost everything that he loved, he had thought it was out of God's disciplining him. While this may have not been the case for Job (refer to Job 1 and 2 for more details), he made a very wise statement that does hold true in our faith.

      It is so easy to be resentful towards the one disciplining us. At the moment, discipline may even feel like a punishment. I know when I have disciplined my kids, I have even said things like, "You're being punished because..." While we may see punishment at the hands of humans, we will not see punishment from God in our lives. When God sent his Son to die on the cross, he abolished the punishment of our sins once and for all. However, this doesn't omit his right to discipline. It's important to remember that punishment and discipline are two different things. Punishment is typically done out of anger and resentment, whereas discipline is done out of love in hopes of correcting a character flaw. Whether we are unintentionally sinning and are unaware of it, or we have a bad habit that is causing distance in our relationship with the Lord, we must understand that He will step in when necessary to groom us into the Christians we were meant to be. He does this because he loves us and wants us to thrive in our faith. If we resent and resist his correction and follow the ways of the world, the day will come when we see God's wrath and will be eternally punished. 

If you feel like God is punishing you right now, I want to encourage you to take a closer look and see what it is God might be trying to teach you at this moment. Embrace His discipline because it's for your good and not harm.