Don't Let Life Wear You Out

Hebrews 12:3–11 ESV

3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” 7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

When we hear the word “discipline”, what comes to mind? Now Johnny, don’t to that. I told you to quit. Now, you shouldn’t be doing that. I said no… Then one of two things happen…the child gets hurt or does something they should not do, or the parent steps in and intervenes.

What is true discipline? Discipline is meant to establish, communicate, and enforce standards of behavior or performance. In the enforcement comes consequences or disadvantages as a result of disobedience. The more traditional meaning and according to the American Heritage Dictionary, discipline refers to “training that is expected to produce a specific character or pattern of behaviour, especially training that produces moral or mental improvement.”

The Greek word used here paideia (pahee-di-ah) is one which describes tutelage, education, or training by way of disciplinary correction through chastening, instruction, and nurturing.

So when we think of discipline here, we are looking at an overarching plan of our Heavenly Father to train and tutor us in His way of behavior and correction through nurturing and instructing us, using chastisement as necessary - NOT to beat us into submission. In this definition, discipline is not necessarily synonymous with punishment. The sole purpose is set us on the right path, set forward by God.

But there are many things that come into play here. Do we have the ability or the authority to discipline everyone? No, we can only discipline those who are under our care or oversight. We have to be willing to accept discipline. Just because we ma face discipline does not mean we still do what is right. When we are doing our own thing, without direction or guidance, it can become tiring. When we are doing the RIGHT thing and seem like we are all alone, it can become tiring. Life can wear us out.

We can never forget though, that the experiences we have builds character and sets us on a path for success. In these verses, the author gives believers encouragement - that we who endure “life”, struggle every day, can understand God provides these opportunities to grow us, train us, and educate us to keep our eyes on Him so that we can find peace. Never forget, Christ endured the same trials and tribulations we face in life and did so without ever taking his eyes of His Father. For us to endure, and not get worn out by life, we must do the same.

Endurance

Hebrews 12:3–6 ESV

3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

I think at times we should take a moment to reflect on all Christ endured for our sakes. It gives us a time to reflect on the magnitude of his sacrifice and compare it to the inconveniences we experience in life. For most of us, we will never endure conflict or persecution to the point of martyrdom for our faith. I would dare say none of us have shed blood as a result of defending our faith! And even though have not faced martyrdom, we still have daily battles with Satan and with sin. Those battles also come with decisions we must make, and with those decisions come consequences. Here, the author reminds us of Proverbs 3:11-12

Proverbs 3:11–12 ESV

11 My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, 12 for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.

The consequences of our actions can come as either blessings or correction. However, when we receive correction, we can allow ourselves to get discouraged. This discouragement can come from both our failing God and from the consequences we receive as a result of our disobedience. We cannot allow ourselves to be overcome with the guilt, though, because of the heart in which the discipline comes.

It’s easy for us to become discouraged, though, when we fail God and realize that we may have moved away from Him. These verses remind us to “fix our eyes on Jesus”. We are to focus on Him and look away from all the other distractions the world has to offer. If we think about why we used to place blinders on horses, it was to restrict their field of vision to cut down on distractions. More importantly, it is so they can remain focused on their task.

While Christ was on earth, He did not allow the distractions of the world to move His eyes from the task of His father. Even so for as to ignore the danger around Him, leading to His ridicule, His persecution, and ultimately His crucifixion. Through all of this, Christ never allowed these trials and tribulations to deter Him from the Fathers goal.

Oh, it we would have this determination! Putting on Christ-like blinders so we can remain focused on the task He has placed us to accomplish. It takes faith and a constant eye focused on Jesus to stay on the correct path. This shows a progressive maturing in our faith, rather than displaying immaturity by falling back into disobedience and grow weary and exhausted as a result.

In contrast, we cannot allow our work to wear us out either. If we are enduring at laboring for Christ, at times we can feel all alone, like no one else is paying helping, or that no one else is listening. After continued labor with what feels to be little to no help we can get burned out, especially if we see no fruit for our labors. We are reminded though in Galatians 6:9

Galatians 6:9 ESV

9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

But not giving up does not mean we will not face suffering and adversity. As a student learning the disciplines of our Master, we can learn from these things and grow in our faith and ultimately use it for righteousness. When we don’t learn from our mistakes then we must face correction. Here is one of the things we need to truly think on; if God disciplines us then He recognizes us as part of His family.

Psalm 94:12 ESV

12 Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord, and whom you teach out of your law,

We find ourselves blessed to be disciplined BECAUSE it is assurance of our salvation.

Discipline

Hebrews 12:7–10 ESV

7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.

The author continues on with the thought of Godly discipline. Even going so far as to say we have to endure, bear, or withstand discipline. We must remember, discipline is not meant to be enjoyed by the one giving or the one receiving. However, we are reminded discipline is never given without cause, it is given by a loving Father, and to NOT receive punishment means He is not our Father, and we are not His.

Further clarification is made comparing the discipline of an earthly father to that of our Heavenly Father. An earthly father disciplines us and we respect them for their correction and guidance. If a sinful, earthly father can see the need for the correction to build character and guide his children the how much MORE should we not expect a loving Heavenly Father to discipline us also?

In a loving form, discipline is necessary and provides a long term benefit. But how many times did we receive corrective punishment by someone who was a stranger? Not a family member or figure of authority, but a true stranger? No! And as a parent we would take issue with someone who did not have the authority or permission to correct our children to do so! Now, I’m not speaking of calling them down when they get too rowdy or loud, but a form of punishment that would only be appropriate by a parent, guardian, family member, or authority figure.

We must keep in our mind “if God did not love us, and if we were not a part of His family, he would not discipline us”! As a son or daughter of the Heavenly Father, we can expect nothing else but to be disciplined when we betray Him in sin. If we respect our earthy parents for their correction, then how much more should we respect our Heavenly Father for his loving guidance through correction?

There is purpose in His correction - it is for our good, and so we may share in His holiness. In other words, so we can discipline ourselves in our growth and learning of God so that we can grow more like Him every day and share in his righteousness.

Righteousness

Hebrews 12:11 ESV

11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Discipline or correction is not meant to be enjoyable. If it were, then what would be the result? Well, to be honest we are seeing what it looks like in our society. One issue we have today is children who have no parent at home to discipline when appropriate. Many young adolescents today are raising themselves as both parents are working and there is no supervision or oversight. The child acts out because they are not getting the attention they need, maybe they are acting out over something the parent does not know about because they don’t have time to talk. Maybe they lash out to get attention - so they can have time with the parent. Maybe you were raised by a stern parent and SWORE you wouldn’t be that hard on your child.

Scripture tells us in verse 11 that discipline, while it may be a painful experience, is adamantly necessary for future righteousness - to know they have attained a state of moral and legal character. God disciplines His children for the same reasons - so that they can reach a state of HOLY righteousness - attaining the moral character of God. He doesn’t do it because He is harsh, because He is cruel, because He is vindictive, but because He is loving and desires for the best to all of His children.

Conclusion

Too often, we can overestimate the severity of the trials we are in, or the correction we receive. We have received NOTHING like what Jesus had to endure. When life gets us down, when it kicks us in the shins, when we can’t think of a way to turn next, we should be encouraged that we can endure and (for most of us) never face the trials Christ faced. We cannot allow life to wear us out, as God intends for life to be fruitful by fulfilling His will here on earth.

I mean, how many times do we hear things like “pain helps build character”? You see, LIFE can bring us pain…it can bring us pressure, weariness, exhaustion, and discouragement…but it is NOTHING compared to what Christ endured and if He endured it, then so can we.

But how? Christ was divine in nature? Because the moment we accept Christ as our Savior, we are adopted into the family of God…and become a son or daughter just like Christ. We cannot expect to NOT face the same opposition Christ faced, but God gives us the ability to overcome, to persevere, to endure. Maybe you are going through a difficult season in your life and you want to yell out HOW??? It’s much simpler to say than to do. Faith. We have to have faith in what God tells us in scripture. These disciplines and corrections we face in life are to mold us and make us into the likeness of our Heavenly Father, but like the horse, we must keep our blinders on so we can stay focused on the task at hand and not become distracted by all that is going on around us.

It may be difficult for someone who did/does not have a good earthly father to understand what true discipline and correction is if they have never experienced it. While a cruel earthly father may bring bad experiences and difficult times, a good earthly father corrects their children so that they will become obedient and productive as an adult.

Life can be cruel, unrelenting, and tears down more than it builds up. but it helps develop our character, gives us endurance to the end, and in the end we, too, can experience the righteousness as God intended.