For My Good

What's your reaction when you feel like you're being disciplined by God? Are you even aware of it when it's happening? When it does, do you feel disheartened or angry or unfairly punished? Within the past couple years, I can honestly say God has made me more attuned and aware of when He is disciplining me. Instead of being thankful for God dealing with me as a Father should, my reaction is often one of sadness, guilt, worry, shame, etc.
But the thing is, God doesn't see it that way....He sees it this way:

"It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons." - Hebrews 12:7-8

"How is it with you today? Are you in a difficult circumstance as a discipline from your loving Father? Do you feel His sadness that it had to come to this in order for you to learn? I don't want to get older and still be an adolescent Christian. I want to grow up in the Lord and trust my heavenly Father even when I don't understand what He's doing. I want to believe that the Lord is way smarter than me. He gets it. His discipline is for my good...Your Father loves you. Everything He allows is for your growth and good. He sees the long picture, even when you can’t. I wonder how I make God’s heart sad when I don’t understand that He lovingly draws near to me even in times of learning (See Psalm 34:18). "      

          --Taken from The Weekly Walk by James MacDonald