Do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord

Hebrews 12:1-13 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ²fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

³ For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

⁴ You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; ⁵ and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons,

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
Nor faint when you are reproved by Him;
⁶ For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines,
And He scourges every son whom He receives.”

⁷ It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? ⁸ But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. ⁹ Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? ¹⁰ For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. ¹¹ All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

¹² Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, ¹³ and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.

In truth any discipline of the Lord we may experience is not so much punishment for our actions as it is our living through the consequences of our sin. God doesn’t smite us nor does He restrict us, grounding us or putting us on time out in response to our sin. Rather when we sin and make decisions outside of God’s will, He allows us to walk on the path we have chosen and while God says:  Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.”(Deuteronomy 31:6); there are places He will not walk with us. God is holy; repeated throughout Leviticus, when God gave the Israelites the law, He said: “I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.”    God will not tolerate and co-exist with the sin in our lives. When we choose to walk in sin we remove ourselves from God’s protection and His grace. The discipline we experience is actually God allowing us to suffer the consequences of our own actions and decisions.

In Psalm 91, the psalmist speaks of the protection we experience when we abide in God. He says: He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
² I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!” ³ For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper And from the deadly pestilence. ⁴ He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.      The protection of God, the promises of God and the grace of God is for the one who dwells and abides in and with God. When we choose to walk outside of God’s will, it is we who cause ourselves to experience the discipline of separation from God.

How then do we end the discipline of God in our lives? It is really quite simple.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.(1 John 1:9) The heart of God and His grace and forgiveness toward us, when we confess and repent of our sin can be seen in the parable of the “Prodigal son”, in Luke 15:18-24.

 I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.”’ ²⁰ So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. ²¹ And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ ²² But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; ²³ and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; ²⁴ for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’  

“While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and had compassion for him” Our heavenly Father watches and waits for us to turn toward Him, to return to His protection and His grace and though we like the prodigal are not worthy, He forgives us, embraces us, showers us with good things and restores us to our standing as His children. There may be residual consequences of the things we have done, the decisions we have made. Our decisions can affect both ourselves and others for years to come. That is not God’s punishment for our sin. Romans 8:28-29 speaks of how God allows and uses the things in our lives:      

 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. ²⁹ For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.           God doesn’t cause all things and the consequences of our sin are not His punishment or discipline; but when we return to God, He will use those things, even the consequences of sin in our lives, to conform us to the image of His Son. As His children, God wants us to be like Jesus, to be Holy.  

So we see then the way out of the discipline of being out of God’s will, His protection and His grace. But there is an even better way; the text today begins by saying:  Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, if we will run the race set before us, if we will walk each and every day with our eyes fixed on Him, then we will stay on the path God has set for us. Jesus is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. He is seated there, at the throne of grace, where we are told to: come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.(Hebrews 4:16) The grace of God to help us when we need it most, found as we fix our eyes on Jesus as He sits at the right hand of God. Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, is most importantly the object of our faith. Jesus Himself says: if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.(Matthew 17:20) So it is not the size of our faith that matters. Philippians 4:18 says:  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.   

The mountains of sins consequences can be moved. The Father is watching and waiting, turn with your eyes fixed on Jesus, the author, the perfecter, the object of your faith, turn to Him come boldly to the throne of God’s grace and He will embrace you and lavish you with His goodness and love. Run the race, walk the walk, fixed on Christ, abiding and dwelling in God’s protection, provision and grace.