Seeking Jesus First Sep. 30, 2025
When you start approaching God as the Father, He starts dealing with you as with a son.
“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.” 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. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:5–11, NKJV)
It is wonderful to no longer be orphans. It is awesome to have received God’s Spirit, such that we call God our Abba, Father. It is amazing that we are partakers of His divine nature. We praise God that we have received the inheritance in Christ and in him we have received all of the promises of God.
Let us remember that with this wonderful privilege comes God interacting with us as The Father who chastens us in His love. He corrects us, and His correction goes against our flesh. This means, we do not enjoy it. It is painful to the flesh.
Fasting has its rewards but do we enjoy skipping delicious meals? Forgiving others makes us free, but is it fun to endure offenses? Giving to others gives us a certain sense of satisfaction, but does it give us pleasure to do without? What about the times we decided to turn a deaf ear to the leading of Holy Spirit? Did the consequences make us want to rejoice? Think about those times when the trouble that came into our lives was caused by our own disobedience.
Our Heavenly Father loves us. When we call Him Father, we are inviting Him to train us as sons. He will discipline us to prepare us for completing His will for our lives. When we ask Our Heavenly Father for something, He will give it to us, but He may have to make us ready for it before He gives it to us. Don’t give your kids the key to the car if they don’t have a driver’s license.
The hardships that The LORD Jesus went through were the direct result of His obedience to God. Persecution came for The Word’s sake. Remember, whether the hardship is self inflicted or coming because of our obedience to God, Our Father is preparing us for promotion. Be faithful. If we submit, His discipline will yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness in us.