Wednesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

February 1, 2017

Reading 1 HEB 12:4-7, 11-15
Brothers and sisters:
In your struggle against sin
you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.
You have also forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as children:
My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord
or lose heart when reproved by him;
for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines;
he scourges every son he acknowledges.
Endure your trials as "discipline";
God treats you as his sons.

For what "son" is there whom his father does not discipline?
At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain,
yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness
to those who are trained by it.

So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees.
Make straight paths for your feet,
that what is lame may not be dislocated but healed.

Strive for peace with everyone,
and for that holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
See to it that no one be deprived of the grace of God,
that no bitter root spring up and cause trouble,
through which many may become defiled.

We need God's discipline to form us into his stewards and sometimes our internal voice is so loud we can't hear His voice, so He shows us our weaknesses and allows us to open our hearts to His ways.

Who among us like discipline? This is not the discipline of our earthly father, but that of our heavenly Father. When we know we need to change, there's an internal stress within our hearts, the old person trying to let the new person come out. The change doesn't feel natural, so it's easy to go back to our old ways of doing things. It requires a different way of thinking, development of willpower and faith that we can accomplish this new goal. The best way I know how to do this is to invite God into my being and let him take control. I ask Him to change me, and somehow He accomplishes just what he wants to happen.

I am especially drawn to the following section from today’s reading, "so strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees. Make straight paths for your feet, that what is lame may not be dislocated but healed." Our Heavenly Father can heal all things, and he brings us things that drop us to our knees so that we can see His love for us as His children. Discipline is necessary so we can trust our God to lift us up when we fall. God places people in our lives who understand God's disciplines and have lived through those journeys of refinement. When we let God be the pilot on our journey, He will steer us exactly where we need to be. While we may not want to be there, He knows why it’s necessary. Discipline requires a mental and sometimes a physical shift. It requires changing the way we think. God wants to transform us into a new creation, taking on Christ-like behaviors and responses.

God disciplines those whom He loves. When we are refined and transformed through God’ discipline, we can truly believe that we are God’s children. So the next time you ask why it’s happening, remember that our Heavenly Father is watching over you and knows the course you need