The last degree of discipline God uses to free us from the prison of any sin we are still living in, is scourging…ok, just by the name of this degree we know it is serious, right? Think our Beloved Jesus here, Who was scourged for our transgressions. (see Isa 53:5) Again, the author is using Heb 12:5-6 NKJV to define these degrees of discipline.
I love the quote from CS Lewis: “We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” The level of intensity in this stage of our disobedience gets severely extreme. This is like God knocking us off our feet, so we might not miss His message to change our ways. We can classify this stage as being in crisis, since this will affect us physically, as well as encompassing the spirit and soul too. Every part of us will be in some level of agony. And the reason this is so is because, as Mr Wilkinson says, “At this level of discipline you are living in open sin with a flagrant disregard for what you know is right.” (p48) This is when we are acting rebellious and defiant towards God and disregarding what He has declared is sin.
Again because of His Love, God must allow this intense suffering to bring us to our senses. We are New in Christ, and so, we must live New in order to honor God and experience His Goodness and the Abundant Life He desires for us. We can no longer continue in our old, sinful ways and expect our Loving Father not to discipline us when He knows a better life awaits.
You can check out the chart I made about these different stages below. But I do hope we will each pray about this today, asking God to reveal whether we are currently in any of these stages right now. Then work with God to get out as quickly as possible.
Degrees of Discipline:
2023’s Got A Minute? Book Club
January: The First & Best Book Ever: The Bible
February: Love Is In the Air: “The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts” by Gary Chapman
March: Spring Growth: “Secrets of the Vine” by Bruce Wilkinson
<>< Peace, Diane
