Trained by Discipline

Genesis 44:13

¹³Then they tore their clothes, and every man loaded his donkey, and they returned to the city.

(ESV)

Thought:
Here we witness a change in all of these brothers. Orchestrated by means of Joseph. He wishes to see if they shall treat Benjamin as they did him. Shall they leave this brother behind, seek to shift the blame before their father? They will not do as they did last time. They will seek to redeem their brother, to beg for forgiveness if they must.

They tear their clothes in despair, what a different reaction from these brothers who once dreamed and salivated over the idea of killing their own brother. They now refuse to flee, or cheat their way out of their predicament but rather they all come and intercede and beg on behalf of their younger brother.

Here we are witnessing a beautiful harvest of righteousness, the kind of spoken in Hebrews 12.

Hebrews 12:11

¹¹For 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.

(ESV)

These brothers have learnt that lies and deception do not bring peace or joy, but only trouble and strife. It only lands them in situations from which they cannot escape, and so they choose the better path.

All of us shall undergo times of testing. It is the way for all Christians, and they are a blessing from God, that our assurance might grow, that we might more certainly know that God is at work in us. But it is most important that we learn from them.

Assurance does not magically appear, the test doesn’t produce without you doing anything. You must actually be trained by it, you must learn from it. If these brothers failed to respond to the guilt brought about this situation they would have failed to be trained by the test.

They would have failed and they would not know the peace of seeing their brother’s face as they did when they took the better path. We must look back and learn from our past, our suffering is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory, let that be an encouragement to you.

Reflection:
As I go about my day, I need to remember that God does not allow trials in my life without purpose. It is easy to focus on the pain of discipline or testing and miss what God is producing through it. Today I need to apply this by looking for the lessons God is teaching me rather than simply seeking relief from difficulty. When I learn from His discipline and respond in obedience, He produces righteousness, peace, and maturity that would not have come any other way.

Prayer:
Father, help me not to waste the trials and discipline You allow into my life. Teach me to be trained by them, learning obedience, humility, and trust. Produce in me the peaceful fruit of righteousness, and help me grow into the person You are shaping me to be. Amen.