The Pain and Peace of God’s Momentary Discipline

The four-story climb from the professor’s office to my dorm room was a blur. My mind was reeling, and my soul was stinging. If I had come to him and said, “I am struggling with pride,” things would be different. I would have been able to maintain some control of my reputation. He may have even thought I was spiritually mature because I recognized and admitted my sin. But the words, “I am concerned about the pride and selfishness I see in your life,” left me feeling ashamed and exposed. I wanted to hide. This professor observed something ugly and sinful in me that I didn’t see in myself. He saw through the holographic image of humility that I projected out for others to admire and praise. He was right. Arriving at my dorm room, I sat down, opened my Bible, and discovered a promise that helped me make sense of the pain. “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11).

I have returned to Hebrews 12:11 many times since that day. I wish I could say that this interaction with my college professor was the last time I needed a faithful correction – It wasn’t. Over the years, I have known the Lord’s loving discipline through the stinging rebukes of good friends, the humiliation of mistakes, and the testing of trying circumstances. The immediate aftermath of these experiences often leaves me confused and searching for a way to make sense of the pain. The light of Hebrews 12:11 banishes the fog of confusion. Three truths in this precious text give hope and direction to any Christian experiencing the sting of God’s discipline.

The first promise that can be mined from this text is this: The Lord disciplines the one he loves. This truth is implied in verse eleven and stated explicitly in verse six. God’s correction is directed to his children out of love, not hatred. The writer of Hebrews argues that if you are left without discipline, you are not a true child of God (Hebrews 12:8). God loves his children with a boundless ocean of affection. On the cross, Christ completely absorbed the wrath of God provoked by his children’s sin. He will not punish Christ and his child for the same sin. The only begotten Son took the punishment so that adopted sons and daughters could be trained by the Father’s loving correction. The Lord disciplines the one he loves.

Second, the Lord’s discipline is painful but momentary. I find great comfort in the honesty of Hebrews 12:11. God’s discipline hurts! I want my life to be pleasant, and my guess is that you share this desire for your life. God’s world is teeming with legitimate pleasures that we are to enjoy. But life in the wilderness of the fallen world also involves pain. Some of that pain is temporarily brought into our lives by the loving discipline of the Lord. Yes, the pain is real. But the pain is not the point. The author of Hebrews uses two words to put the pain of correction into perspective: “moment” and “seems.” Both words convey the beautiful reality that the pain of discipline looks one way when you are in the middle of it and another in hindsight. Agonizing workouts look one way when the athlete is training and another from the vantage point of the gold medal podium. The Lord’s discipline is painful but momentary.

The third promise that dispels the fog of confusion is that God’s discipline is purposeful. The Lord surgically brings momentary pain into a believer’s life so that they may bear “the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (Hebrews 12:11). The Lord knows that sin corrupts. It lures and seduces only to steal, kill, and destroy. We are like a sin-infected plant. The Gardener cuts and severs the diseased branches so that his plants may bear the fruit he is after – righteousness. The momentary pain leads to an incredible bounty of fruit for those trained by the discipline of the Lord.

If you are a child of God, you should expect the Lord’s discipline. He loves you and wants you to yield the peaceful fruit of righteousness. The pain is real, but it won’t last long. Let the Lord train you through it. He is working for your good and his glory. “Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed” (Hebrews 12:12-13). There is no time for self-pity. You and I have a race to run. So let us cast off our sin, look to Jesus, and run (Hebrews 12:1-2).