Read
“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
Hebrews 12:11 NIV
Accepting Discipline
I hit send on the email to submit my manuscript to a publisher. And then I waited to hear from them. Months went by and nothing. Finally, I received an email back with recommendations for writing courses. My heart sank as I read through the comments provided. My writing skills needed a lot of help. Soon, thoughts of quitting filled my head.
I wanted to take the remarks personally instead of realizing the publisher wanted to help me improve my skills. They had years of experience that could benefit me if I put them into practice. They offered me a gift with their suggestions. But, many years later, I am still writing because I listened and changed my ways. I needed to improve my writing skills, but it was still difficult to hear their recommendations. The discipline they suggested helped me to write better.
Discipline or correction never feels good, especially in our walk with God. Sometimes, we forget God knows us and wants what is best for us. And we want to take the easy road of life without doing the hard work of faith, but we still want to reap the reward of eternal life. But God understands how sin can lead us away from faith, so he teaches us the better way. And God wants us to learn his ways and follow his paths which lead us to eternal life. His plans are better than ours, so he disciplines us to get us back on the right track. He teaches those he loves.
More Encouragement
The Twelfth chapter of Hebrews gives us additional encouragement for the times we feel the discipline of God in our lives. And Paul points out that God loves us so much, he disciplines us like we would with our children. Oh, how I love verses five and six, which say:
“5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”
Hebrew 12:5-6 (NIV)
Pray
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for holding me accountable in my faith. Thank you for loving us enough to want to teach us your ways. Please help us remember and accept the discipline you give to us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Reflect on Discipline
What areas of your life to do you need to submit to God’s loving correction?
|
||||
|
||||
| Thanks, Yvonne M Morgan |
||||
Grace and Peace to you,
Yvonne M. Morgan is a Christian #author, #blogger, and #speaker. #BibleGatewayPartner
Matthew 28:19 “Therefore, GO and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
Additional Resources:
This is certainly a good recommendation for writers. I was blessed to be part of peer review groups who understood how sensitive writers are to review and comment. As good as they were in assisting me, my attention span hasn’t been long enough to reap the benefits. Yet, a “Pilot Light” flickers now and again, calling me back to attempts. Thanks for the reminder it takes more than a wish.
Thanks so much Warren. I pray you get back at it. Blessings
Excellent post, Yvonne. You’ve reminded my that Hebrews is my favorite NT book at this point in my faith journey. I think I need to pay attention to God’s discipline in the area of loving difficult people!
Thank you Priscilla. Hebrews is so full of amazing information. It teaches us so many things. Blessings
I found it challenging to get past my pride and hurt when first faced with rejection and recommendations to improve my writing. But after God helped me over that hump, I was blessed with wonderful mentors, seminars and classes, and the will to learn better skills. It’s tough, but that’d how we get better. I believe our Father is our best example of how to parent–love, mercy, patience, and discipline as needed. Thank you, Yvonne. Happy New Year!
Happy New Year Katherine. Our pride gets in the way of lots of things. We think we know what is right and best. But only the Father knows and He is our best example. Blessings
Amen. A beautiful reminder that we can learn from discipline. 🙂 Happy New Year!
Happy New Year Melissa
Amen Ms. Yvonne. We each have to remember that if we are truly called to be a Christian writer, then we must be willing to accept the discipline that comes with learning to become the best one we can be. In the same way we must be willing to accept God’s discipline to help us grow to be more like His Son with each passing year He has blessed us with. I’ve often considered how the words discipline and disciple are so closely related. Let us endeavor to be writing disciples as He teaches us, often through others (like you), how to be a better representative for His kingdom. God’s blessings in this new year ma’am.
You are so right JD. We need discipline to become better in all we do. Thank you and happy New Year to everyone at Cross W Ranch.
Yvonne, I’m thankful you selected the topic of discipline. I’ve been praying about self-control. I want to have more self-control in health areas and accept God’s wise discipline when He sends it.
That’s a good one to pursue too. I pray God will strengthen you. God bless Jeannie and happy New Year
I’ve been there, too, Yvonne! Even after many years of writing and even teaching writing, I got advice that was so humbling… and yet I swallowed my pride, took it, and learned SO MUCH from it. We must always strive to have a student’s heart, I believe.
We do need a student’s heart always. God loves a cheerful listener. Thanks Jessica and Happy New Year
Yvonne, this is so powerful and such a needed message. The Lord does indeed discipline those He loves, just like loving parents discipline children-because it’s best for them. I’ve heard adults say they didn’t feel loved growing up because no one gave them rules to follow, much less discipline.
Thank you Karen. It is hard to accept but so needed. Blessings on your New Year.