FRIDAY May 8, 2026

The Chastening of the Lord

And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.”
Hebrews 12:5-6

In this passage, Paul used a reference from Proverbs 3:11-12: My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction; for whom the Lord loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights. Having a relationship with God means you will not be able to get away with your sin. As your Father, in love, God is going to discipline you.

The word despise means “to care little for” or “to regard lightly.” We cannot take God’s chastening lightly. We need to take His discipline seriously. The word chastening literally means “education or training by disciplinary correction.” It is Christian discipline that regulates character.

If you call yourself a Christian, but you are living a life of sin, and you have not been disciplined by God, then I have to question if your faith in Christ is genuine. No real child of God can get away with sin. Think of it this way: If you have an earthly father who loves you, and, as his child, he sees you are doing something wrong, he will correct you. Why? Again, he loves and cares for you. He does not want you to go astray in life.

Then how much more will your heavenly Father correct you? You are His child! He loves you and does not want you to go astray. I find that there are three areas of discipline: discipline, preservation and education. God is just, and in His justice, you will face the consequences of your sin––He visits you with discipline––chastening. God is love, and from His love, He will intervene to preserve you from this world’s evil influences.

Discipline is a good form of education. When a child is told not to touch the stove because it is hot and he does not listen, but places his hand in the fire, he gets burned. The child learned an important lesson––he cannot touch fire or he will get burned. He will remember the pain and not do it again. For the Christian, if you play with fire––sin––you will get burned. You will think twice before doing it again.

The Lord, in His love and faithfulness, will not, and cannot, let us go on in backsliding but He will visit us with stripes, to bring us back to Himself!
~George Muller~

For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!