Today’s Scripture: Hebrews 12:7

“It is for discipline that you have to endure.”

All hardship of whatever kind has a disciplinary purpose for us. There’s no such thing as pain without a purpose in the life of a believer. Every expression of discipline has as its intended end conformity to the likeness of Christ.

Can we tell if a particular adversity is related to some specific sin in our lives? Not with certainty, but my belief is that the Holy Spirit will bring such a connection to our attention if we need to know in order to deal with a particular sin. If nothing comes to mind, we can ask God if there’s something he wants us to consciously learn. Beyond that, it’s vain to speculate as to why God has brought a particular hardship into our lives. Part of the sanctifying process of adversity is its mystery—our inability to make any sense out of it.

Although all pain has a purpose in the mind of God, that purpose is usually hidden from us. As Paul wrote, “how unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Romans 11:33). The Williams New Testament expresses Paul’s thought in an even more forceful way: “how unsearchable his decisions, and how mysterious his methods!” God’s ways, being infinitely higher than our ways, will usually remain a mystery to us.

When we’re unable to make any sense of our circumstances, we need to come back to the assurance in Hebrews 12:7: “God is treating you as sons.” He is the one in charge of sanctification in our lives. He knows exactly what and how much adversity will develop more Christ-likeness in us and he will not bring, nor allow to come into our lives, any more than is needful for his purpose. (Excerpt taken from The Discipline of Grace)

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