Day 4 Hebrews 12:5-14 Making straight paths for my feet

Hebrews 12:5A nd ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:

6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.

11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

12 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;

13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

14Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

God disciplines us not because He wants to hurt us but because He loves us. It is a hard thing to accept because God is a very loving and giving God. But it is because of His love that He corrects us when we are wrong. Just like our earthly parents did when we were younger. Many of us can attest to being better men and women because of the discipline and punishments given to us by our parents. Receiving God's discipline produces righteousness and peace. Righteousness leads to holiness and without it, no one will see the Lord. All of the things God does for us, is so we can spend eternity with Him. Sometimes the things He asks us to do is so very hard but understand He always has our best interest in mind. He will never take us to it without bringing us through it. Just trust in Him and watch how He will move on your behalf for being obedient. The more you seek Him and be like Him, the less spiritual spankings you will have to receive.

Understand we are not like everyone else. We are kind of like kids who have super strict parents and don't get to do like the other kids do. It seems like it is mean and unfair but it is done to protect us and to keep us on the right path. If we do like the world does, we will fall into the same traps like others around us. That's why we can't go everywhere, do everything, say anything, and be with everybody. God requires more from us. He wants to set us apart and have us be the example for others to follow. But we must follow Him so that when others follow us, they are following Him as well. Q