God spoke much about chastening, He said: “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” (Hebrews 12:5-10).

And says also: “He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly” (Proverbs 13:24).
The rod and rebuke gives wisdom, But a child left to himself brings shame to his mother” (proverbs 29:15).
“A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is the grief of his mother” (proverbs 10:1).

When we reject chastening, complain and get exhausted, we lose our testimony and that noble name by which we are called will be blasphemed.
The Bible says in the Proverbs “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of correction will drive it far from him” (Proverbs 22:15), which means that, by nature, we are disobedient and do not receive the things of the spirit of God. “The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness to him” (1 Corinthians 2:14). How would God take away foolishness from us? He deals with us in our daily affairs by tightening things, He rebukes us and we obey.

Sometimes, God postpones a thing or deprives us from others, but aiming to our benefit, the Bible says: “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 12:11).

When did Jacob obey God? The Lord asked him to be separated and depart to Bethel, but he refused and devoted himself to the world, he even moved his tents and did not come back to Bethel. However, after being exposed to many pressures, we find him immediately submitting himself and depart to Bethel.

Also, How did the disobedient Jonah obey? He preferred to be thrown into the sea than obeying the Lord, but his God did not abandon him, so he prepared a whale for him to teach him obedience, therefore, he cried saying: In my distress I called upon the LORD, and then he learned to pray and learned also to submit and return to the Lord.

Such fear has a reward; God has rewarded Abraham because he feared him, so He said: “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me” (Genesis 22:12).

If we want to experience the right relationship with God, We have to take the stance of the obedient children, not only with the Loving Father who shepherds and redeems but obedient children with the father of Holiness.

Magdy Samuel