The Peaceful Fruit of Righteousness

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 (Hebrews 12:11ESV).

There is no escaping the Father’s love when you put your life into His hands. He will never leave or forsake you. He watches over you while you sleep and knows when you sit and when you lie down. Why would the God of the universe have such interest in you? Simply put, He is your Creator, and in Christ, you return to Him as your Father. The Lord performs a work within you that only He can do. He will raise you to trust in His unfailing love for you.

How does God teach or discipline you to trust Him? You may not like the answer, but through hardship and pressure, we enter the Kingdom of God. We find our refuge of undisturbed peace only in the Kingdom of God. When you are going through difficult times, do not allow the devil to trick you into believing that God does not love you. The Father only disciplines those who belong to Him. Children do not like discipline. Who likes to give up their cell phone or have the keys to the car taken from you? But parents who love their children will always discipline their kids. The parent who neglects their children by allowing them to do whatever they think is best hates their children.

Jesus taught us that He is the vine, and we are the branches because we abide in Him. The Father comes to prune us so we can bear more fruit. Pruning cuts away what sucks the life out of us. What we cling to are often thoughts, habits, and belief systems we must release, for they counter our peace and security. The discipline of the Lord produces pain, and you have no pleasure in it, but it only lasts for a short season. As you cry out to the Lord for help and declare His word you will experience that He is faithful to His promises. You will change your way of thinking, and along the way, the Lord will deposit the peaceful fruit of righteousness within you. You will eat that fruit throughout your life and share it with others. Blessed are you because you have tasted the Lord’s goodness. You know you can rely upon Him, for He is your refuge from every storm.