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
Hebrews 12 gives us perspective on the hardships we face as believers. It reminds us that God uses our experiences—especially the difficult ones—to do something special in us: to discipline us “for our good” (v. 10).
This is about as natural to us as a child looking forward to being disciplined by his parents! As this passage declares, we’ve all experienced pain in the process of being trained.
God isn’t implying that what has occurred is no big deal. If you’ve been mistreated in some way, He’s not telling you to just shake it off and get on with it.
No, Hebrews 12 should encourage us that God considers these matters weighty enough to require His special care. He wants to use these painful experiences for our spiritual training and maturity. They are part of His eternal purpose and His plan to mold and shape us into the image of Jesus so He can be glorified through our lives.
Make it Personal
How has God used painful experiences to shape your character and reveal your need to walk more closely with Him?