SATURDAY May 9, 2026

Endure Chastening

If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.
Hebrews 12:7-8

God’s children will suffer when they choose to sin. They will have to endure chastening by the Lord. The word endure means “bear bravely and trustfully.” We trust that God is working all things, even chastening, for our own good and we must bear it. God chastens us to bring about a change of heart and repentance. His desire is to keep us on the narrow path––the way of salvation. He does not want to lose us to this world or have us separated from Him for all eternity. He loves us deeply, so do not despise His chastening or lose your faith in Him.

Listen, we cannot get away with sin in our lives, which is a good thing! Why? Chastening becomes an assurance that we are children of God. Paul alludes to this in Deuteronomy 8:5: “You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you.” A true child of God will experience the Lord’s loving hand of chastening.

Another reference about God’s chastening is found in 2 Samuel 7:14. God made a covenant with King David. He promised that Solomon, David’s son, would sit on his throne. God treated Solomon as His son: “I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.” Sadly, in 1 Kings 11:1-3, we read how Solomon did go astray:

But King Solomon loved many foreign women ... from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, “You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart.

Is there someone in your life who has influenced you to turn your heart away from the Lord? Consider your ways and turn back to God.

Repentance describes what coming to God is. You can’t turn towards God without turning from the things He is against.
~David Guzik~

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