Being Chastened by the Lord
by: Mary Kathryn Marsh
May 5, 2026
“You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:
’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. 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.
Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord ”
As my life goes on and different seasons come and go, I am realizing that the seasons of my life that have been marked with the most growth in God have been the seasons of various trials that He has allowed in my life. I love the passage of scripture above as it speaks to God’s heart towards us His children as He disciplines us. It makes it clear that “whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.” The Lord’s chastening, discipline, restraining, exposing, refining Hand comes to those whom He has received and whom He loves. It also says in the scripture above that He does this “for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.” This makes very clear to God’s children that He disciplines us, deals with us, chastens us, restrains us for our own profit, and that we may partake of His holy nature.
In the various seasons of my life I have deeply sensed the Hand of the Lord upon me sanctifying me in this way. According to the scripture above this is what the Lord does with each of His children, but do we have eyes to see and ears to hear Him? Are we cooperating with our Lord? Are our necks bowed down before Him? Or are we found complaining, asking “why”, and shaking our fists at God, resisting His very Hand?
I have come to believe deeply in the core of my being that in His Sovereignty our Father in Heaven arranges the circumstances of our daily lives for our highest good. In my experience He has primarily used these trials of various kinds to sanctify me and transform me. In all of these things I believe God is working His holy nature into me, and He desires to do the same in you.
As God disciplines us, He is sanctifying us unto Himself. This means God is setting us apart from that which is common or worldly that we might be wholly unto Him and His purposes in the earth. If we endure His chastening, the scripture in Hebrews above states that it will yield the “peaceable fruit of righteousness” in our lives. I can testify to this experience in my very own life! As I yield more and more to the Lord, I experience more of the peaceable fruit of righteousness in my life. As God works His nature into us inwardly, we begin to organically walk in righteousness outwardly, which causes us to be right with both God and man, and this yields peace as a sweet fruit for our enjoyment!
According to the scripture above, this sanctifying work of God is not only for our profit, it not only yields a peaceable fruit of righteousness in us, but by it we will be healed! As God disciplines us, chastens us, and deals with us, He heals us. He is the Restorer of our souls, hallelujah! I have tasted this too, and it is so sweet!
At the end of the passage above, we are exhorted to not only endure the Lord’s chastening, but to pursue this holiness that the Lord is longing to work in each of His children, because without it we cannot see the Lord!
Dear Christian, if you are like me, and you find yourself in trials of many different kinds, take heart! The Father of our spirit loves us, and He is desiring to work in us His holy nature, His fruits of righteousness that we might not only be profited, but that we might also bear His expression and carry His name in a manner that is worthy of Him. We live in a dark and perverse generation. Oh that we might be those who allow the Lord to work His holy nature within us that we might shine as His luminaries in the midst of the darkness that surrounds and be most useful in His hands for such a time as this!
After such an exhortation one might ask, how do we practically receive the Lord’s divine and holy nature? I believe first we must accept the life the Lord has given us. As we do, we can simply ask the Lord, “What are You desiring to do within me Lord in this season?”
We also must be committed to being completely honest with Him, confessing our true condition to Him with a repentant heart. We then must keep our hearts yielded and bowed down to Him cooperating with Him as we begin to discern the season He has us in. And lastly, we must remain prayerfully in His Word, for His very Word is living and is actively infusing us with His very Spirit as we read and receive it, instructing our hearts and transforming our very nature from within!
Oh that we would be those who endure the discipline of the Lord that we might see Him! To Him be the glory! Amen!
Prayer
Father, would You sanctify me through and through. Would You cause my spirit, soul, and body to be made pure and blameless at Your coming. Faithful are You who call me, and You will surely do it. You are Jehovah, Who sanctifies me! Create in me also a willing heart, yielded wholly unto You. Your Kingdom come, Your will be done in my life. Amen.
Worship: Psalm 91
Further Study
1 Thessalonians 5:23-25; 1 John 1:9; Psalm 23:3; Colossians 1:9-10; Philippians 1:9-11
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As my life goes on and different seasons come and go, I am realizing that the seasons of my life that have been marked with the most growth in God have been the seasons of various trials that He has allowed in my life.