Three Purposes God's Disciplines his Chidlren

There are basically three reasons for the chastisements of God; one is retributive; David experienced that after his sin with Bathsheba. God said, the sword shall never depart from thy house. Then there is preventive chastisement and Paul speaks about the thorn in the flesh, and he said God gave him the thorn and the flesh that he might not boast himself too much. That is to curb his pride. That’s one of the reasons that we suffer the discipline of God, too.

But probably most often we suffer the discipline of God for purposes of education. Job experienced that. He said he had heard of the God by the hearing of the ear, but now his eyes seeth God, wherefore he repented in dust and ashes. The psalmist, speaking about the way in which God seems to treat the wicked, they are prosperous, they have a good life, and on the other hand the saints were suffering, and unable to understand, went into the sanctuary of God and asked the Lord about it. He said this was a great problem to him until he went in the sanctuary and then he learned what God was really doing in the lives of individuals and he learned, and after he learned, he speaks those wonderful words about the future that God has for those who have truly trusted him. ~ S Lewis Johnson