Description
The Blessing of Discipline: A Biblical Perspective from Psalm 94:12
In this episode, we explore the often uncomfortable… (visit YouTube for more)
Transcript
Do you like to be disciplined? No, me either. Look at Psalm 94 verse 12 though. Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord, and whom you teach out of your law.
In what context do we see discipline? I can think of two immediately. One is parents with their children, and another is in the army, where you have soldiers being trained and they are forced into a particular pattern, into a particular set of behaviours and standards.
And the Psalmist says, to receive this discipline from God is a blessing. To be formed, to be channelled into a particular shape. And with the discipline comes this teaching of God’s law, his moral law, the law that underpins how this universe operates. The Psalmist says it is a blessing to receive all this.
If you see an unruly child whose parents do not hold that child in check, what you are witnessing, is a child who is not being properly loved by their parents. Discipline towards our children is a sign that we love them. We care about how they will turn out. We want them to be able to go into this world and function and interact without causing chaos.
And so God loves us, but he is so much better at discipline than any earthly parent could be. And one of the ways he disciplines us, one of the ways he shapes us, is to give us the Holy Spirit, and to give us his word, which change us, which transform us, which help us to grow more and more like Jesus.
Lord God. Thank you for the blessing of discipline, though sometimes we find it most painful, God. We know it is for our good and for your glory, and thank you for your word that you have sent to us to reveal yourself to us so that we understand more about you and more about what you want of us, your much loved children. Amen.
