“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)
One day I asked the Lord, “What do Christians need to know to come out triumphantly when they go through tests and trials?” The Lord had me turn to Hebrews 12:5-6, “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.” I began to see some truths that were comforting concerning the matter of God’s chastening. I found out that chastening means “child training, instruction, being educated.” What a difference that makes!
Every Christian will experience trials, temptations, infirmities, and afflictions, but God has promised that His personal training can cause you to win over them all. To triumph over tests and trials, we must understand that God uses them as training grounds to help us win “the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1). The Christians life is like a race with hurdles and obstacles to overcome. A hill or two may test our endurance and stretch our faith. If we are going to run and finish the race, then we will have to lay aside some weights (sin) that can slow us down and eventually lead to defeat (see Hebrews 12:1). We can’t finish the course God has set before us if we allow sin to distract us from running the course.
Often, when we are confronted with a test, trial, or temptation, we think God is mad at us, but He isn’t! There are two wrong ways to respond to God’s training, found in Hebrews 12:5-6: you can despise God’s training, and you can be discouraged and despair of it. When you despise the Lord’s chastening, you treat it lightly. If you have bitterness, covetousness, or bad habits and the Lord uses a person or a situation to deal with it, so why can’t I?” If you ignore God’s chastening, you are treating it lightly and could end up out of the race.
Another wrong way to respond is to despair of God’s training. The Lord may put His hand on you and say, “I don’t like this thing (weight) in your life, it keeps you from being victorious,” You can accept God’s dealing and act on His words; or you can say, “Oh, God, I just can’t help it. I’ve tried and tried to overcome it, and I just can’t. It’s hopeless.” But it’s not hopeless! Remember: “For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives” (Hebrews 12:6). Don’t faint or despair over your situation: rather, know that God’s wonderful hand of love is behind it.
Training brings profit into your life. If you refuse to allow the Lord to train and discipline you, you won’t mature in your Christian faith. If you despise God’s training or despair in the middle of a trial, then your spiritual growth stagnates, and you are no longer of any profit to God’s kingdom. How tragic! The Lord wants us to be constant producers who grow to maturity in Him because maturity leads to fruit-bearing. The Lord’s chastening will yield “the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11).
Tests and trials are opportunities for spiritual exercise that strengthens our inner man and gets us ready for bigger and better things from God. The more we exercise in the spiritual realm, the more we are equipped to enter into spiritual warfare for ourselves, our loved one, and the unsaved all around us. So, embark on God’s personal training program today!