The Ancient Word...

Some suffering takes the form of divine discipline. Punishment is motivated by revenge, or the desire to penalize wrongdoers by hurting them (see Exodus 21:23-25 and Bare Roots 11.1). However, discipline is motivated by love, redemption, and the offender's ultimate well-being. Through hardship and pain, it aims to educate and reform. It produces the "godly sorrow" that "brings repentance, leads to salvation, and leaves no regret" (2 Corinthians 7:10, NIV).

In disciplining His people, God acts as a good Father training His children. The Hebrews writer therefore urges us to accept such discipline and learn from it:

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons...we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness. 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 12:7-11; compare Job 5:17; Proverbs 3:11-12)

In disciplining His people, the Lord also acts as a metalworker, who passes his handiwork through the fire in order to burn away impurities and strengthen the metal. The Lord said to Israel,

See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. (Isaiah 48:10; compare Zechariah 13:9)

In this way, the Lord uses suffering to build character, causing us to grow and mature. James urges us to keep our eyes on this positive goal:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:2-4; compare Romans 5:3-5)

Refusal to accept God's discipline may lead to punishment, as when Israel rejected the Lord's plea to turn from false gods:

You struck them, but they felt no pain; you crushed them, but they refused correction... "Should I not punish them for this?" declares the LORD. "Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this?" (Jeremiah 5:3, 9, 29)

Rather than provoke God's wrath, Jeremiah models how the sufferer should humble himself, examine his life, repent of his sins, ask the Lord for forgiveness, and wait quietly for His deliverance (see Lamentations 3).

... for Today

When Frank received his diagnosis, he wondered how he had offended God. No 30-year-old should face cancer! What had he done? What sin had he committed? How had he so angered God as to deserve this?

When we suffer, our first thoughts often turn to God's judgment for sin. Like the Jews of old, we hope that, if we can just "clean up" our lives, then the suffering will pass.

Suffering as discipline proves difficult to recognize, even in hindsight. How can we correctly identify discipline?

Perhaps we can't.

However, we find a way forward in the words of James. Rather than scrutinize the origin of our suffering, a better response may simply be to "consider it pure joy" (James 1:2), even as Jesus did (Hebrews 12:2). For we know that the Lord works in every trial to draw us closer to Himself.

In every hardship, we should immediately seek out the Lord. In this way, suffering takes nothing from us, but it leads to maturity and completeness in Him.

If our pain turns us toward Christ, it produces "a harvest of righteousness and peace." Sorrow turns to joy as we pursue Him more.

Discuss...

1. Hardship is a natural consequence of sin, but have you ever experienced hardship that you recognized unmistakably as God's discipline? Describe the experience.
   
2. Read Hebrews 12:1-13. What do you learn from this text?

Chris Davis, PhD & David Timms, PhD
Hope International University
Fullerton, California

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