Reacting to God's Discipline

Like any loving parent, God disciplines us when we sin. In response, we must (1) recognize the discipline and (2) be grateful for the discipline. As written in Psalm 119; 67,71 (NIV),

Before I was afflicted I went astray,
    but now I obey your word.
It was good for me to be afflicted
    so that I might learn your decrees.

Being thankful for discipline is a lot easier said than done, but that's what God expects from us. Let's consider David's affair with Bathsheba and attempted coverup. As discipline, God informed David that David's son would die. David immediately began fasting and pleading with God to change his mind. It didn't work, and David's son soon died.

Now, how did David react? Cain, when presented with a similar situation, pouted and became angry with God. Saul, when presented with a similar situation, pouted and became angry with God. But for David's response (2 Samuel 12:20, NIV),

Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped.

He worshiped God! David is widely celebrated not because he was perfect. (He was far from it!) Rather, he's celebrated because he operated on a level of spiritual understand far above the rest of us.

So, as difficult as it seems, in our own lives, let us not only recognize God's discipline, but also thank him for it. Its purpose is to bring us closer to him.