Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. —Hebrews 12:10-11
Remember that the purpose of God’s discipline is to equip our hearts in Christlikeness. The prophetic message that He gives us is in essence to embrace the various dimensions of Christlikeness. His overall prophetic goal for all Christians is “to be conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29, NKJV). God wants us to embody the prophetic message that He entrusts to us. It is never enough to proclaim a message. In one sense, God wants His Word to become flesh in our lives. Therefore, He sends various forms of redemptive discipline to help us see the unperceived weaknesses in our lives, those hidden fault lines beneath the surface. We can despise His discipline and decide to quit pursuing the Lord as fervently as we once did. We can become bitter at God for administering it. Or we can respond in the only right way, which is to endure His redemptive discipline, knowing that it is for our good that we might share in His holiness.
{ PRAYER STARTER }
Lord, I welcome Your disciplining Spirit, for it equips me to live in Christlikeness. Keep me from becoming bitter or from rejecting Your purposes for the discipline.
We must seek to live the message we proclaim
before we can genuinely claim to have
a prophetic message and a
prophetic ministry.
