GOD’S DISCIPLINE: A PATHWAY TO REFUGE
Orientation
God's discipline is often mistaken for punishment, causing believers to hide in fear rather than run to Him.
- Discipline is not God's anger for our failures.
- It is a gracious summons to find safety in Him.
- Our instinct to hide or strive is based on a misunderstanding.
The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow. Then called I upon the name of the LORD; O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul. (Psalms 116:3-4)
— Psalms 116:3-4
Clarification
God's discipline trains us to cease from self-reliance and rest in Christ's finished work.
- Trials are not tests to prove our worth or earn favor.
- Their purpose is to expose the futility of our own efforts.
- The intended result is to enter the rest that is Christ Himself.
For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. (Hebrews 4:10)
— Hebrews 4:10
Structure
Divine discipline leads us to realize God is our inheritance and to receive Christ as our portion.
- The proper response to God's benefits is not repayment, but reception.
- We are to 'take the cup of salvation,' which is Christ.
- This reception enables us to walk before the Lord in the land of the living.
What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD. (Psalms 116:12-13)
— Psalms 116:12-13
Weight-Bearing Prose
God’s discipline is a positive, Pauline category of sonship (Hebrews 12:5-11), distinct from punishment for sin. Its function is pedagogical, not penal. It trains the believer to seek refuge in God, breaking the pattern of self-reliance. This aligns with the revelation that our righteousness, sanctification, and rest are found in a Person—Christ (1 Corinthians 1:30). The ‘cup of salvation’ in Psalm 116 is a type of Christ, our life and sustenance. The error to reject is viewing discipline as retribution, which collapses back into a system of wages and effort, undermining justification by faith. The believer’s inheritance—Christ Himself—is already secured and received by faith, not earned through endurance of trials. Discipline simply draws us deeper into the enjoyment of that settled inheritance.
Integration
Your standing before God is not altered by the experience of discipline. It is anchored in Christ’s finished work. The pressure to perform or the fear of punishment is removed because God deals with you as a son, for your training. The rest He invites you into is not a reward for your endurance, but the present possession of your union with Christ. When distress comes, see it as His gracious hand inclining your ear to call upon Him. There is no hierarchy here, only a Father drawing His child into deeper refuge. The outcome is assured: you will know Him more as your portion. Let this truth settle your soul. Christ is your refuge, your rest, and your cup of salvation. Receive Him anew.