Deuteronomy 8:5 (NIV) – Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.
Discipline is to punish in order to train.
Having now come out of Egypt and the forty long years in the desert, the Israelites have finally arrived in the Promised Land. As they are on the verge of entering the land, into a new kind of life a land flowing with milk and honey, Moses pauses to bring perspective with some hard truths.
Moses reminds them that it was the Lord who delivered them out of Egypt, with such power. But it was also the same God who humbled them through the forty years in the desert to see if they would obey Him. It was the Lord who humbled them with hunger and fed them with manna to teach them that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. It was the Lord.
God does discipline His children. He disciplines us to teach us lessons of faith. He disciplines us to develop our character. He disciplines us to increase our dependence on Him. Most of all, He disciplines us because He loves us. We are not to be surprised or resent the discipline of the Lord rather look at it with faith in our God the Father who loves us deeply. For the Lord disciplines those He loves and accepts as His children (Hebrews 12:6).
So the next time you are faced with a difficult situation, would you pause to consider what the Lord could be trying to teach you through this experience?
Lord help me trust You and recognize Your love for me as I try to understand the challenges I may be facing today.