And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:
“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,
Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
For whom the Lord loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives.”
If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. (Hebrews 12:5-8)
God has big plans for us. But to fulfill those plans, we have to lean into the correction He gives us. His plans are for our success and for us to become a better, greater, bigger person than we are now. But if we don't understand that His correction is for our best interest, we might grow to despise it.
Oh Lord, why can't we be like everyone else?
Is that what we really want? Often when we are in the midst of our change, we groan, complain, and wish we were like everyone else. But do we really? If we've known the love and forgiveness God provides, we don't want to live without it. But this love and forgiveness also comes with correction. We are not undisciplined children. Instead, God wants us to grow up to proper adulthood, and not be wild.
But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
(1 Peter 5: 10)
As we grow, there are growing pains. But they are always temporary, for our benefit, and to make us stronger in Christ. So let us not be weak in our weariness and complain how we want to be like other people. Instead, let us determine to endure and remember there's a purpose in our pain.
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