THE DISCIPLINE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

God created us to serve His purpose on earth. In our raw state after conversion, we are not really fit for His use. Before we can become useful to Him, the discipline of the Holy Spirit must be carried out in our lives. Our level of qualification for God’s use is largely dependent on how much discipline we are ready to receive.

God knows our deficiencies and the things we need. He understands our personalities and operates through the Holy Spirit in our environment to make us better vessels for His use. By nature, we are ignorant and do not know what we really need. Our choices, laden with human wisdom, are often faulty and full of errors.

A very big picture lies ahead of us but all we see is a tiny fraction. God sees the whole picture and uses the Holy Spirit to discipline us according to His purpose for our lives. This disciplinary work begins the moment we become Christians and continue throughout our lives. Often times, we are not prepared for this discipline and think we don’t deserve it because it appears as if it’s a form of punishment from God.

For instance, a beautiful sister may rely on her beauty to get a good husband. In order to break her dependence on beauty, God may allow her to go through series of failed relationship until she comes to the realization that a good man comes from the Lord (James 1:17).

God is passionate about everything that concerns us. Even the number of hairs on our head He knows (Matt 10:30). This leads us to the realization that everything that happens to us as His children is according to His purpose (Rom 8:28). There is nothing that happens in our environment which is not permitted by God. We must understand this fact that He is not cruel but allows us to go through some things for our education (Is 48:10). Complaining about the situation or murmuring against anybody is lack of wisdom which shows we are ignorant of God’s dealing.

Jacob is a character in the Bible who had to go through the discipline of the Holy Spirit. He started his life as a cheat right from birth and got everything he wanted by being deceitful. How did the Holy Spirit discipline him? His sons told him that his favourite child, Joseph, was killed by a wild beast; he was cheated by his uncle; his eldest son defiled his bed; Rachel, his beloved wife, died after giving birth; his family was disgraced by the rape of his daughter. After going all through these and some more, he confessed that his life was full of sorrows (Gen 47:9) and became a better person. 

How dignified he was when he stood before Pharaoh to bless him! He left the monarch’s presence without demanding for anything. Jacob of old would not have done that. At the end of his life, he died as a peaceful man. It is interesting to note that God later addressed himself as the God of Jacob, an ex-con man.

The discipline of the Holy Spirit is the best for us and must not be considered as bouts of bad luck. Any form of resistance or resentment will only delay the work. There was a time in my life that everything seems to be upside down. It was as if God has forgotten me. But today, I am grateful because of the things I was able to learn during those periods. I could not have learnt them otherwise.

May the Lord open our eyes so that our sincere prayer always would be “Lord, accomplish in me that which is profitable in your sight”.