When I was a little boy, my father disciplined me frequently. Daily, it seems. Hourly, perhaps? It was so frequent! But I loved my daddy and I respected his authority. I feared the discipline (not gonna lie), but I never ran from it or fought it. I took my licks with a good attitude.[1]
I love Proverbs 3:11-12.
“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by Him. For whom the Lord loves, He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives.”
I love this verse but it is tough! How do you know when you are facing the discipline of the Lord? Maybe you’re facing an attack from the enemy? Or maybe you are reaping what you sowed? Or maybe you are suffering because you live in a fallen world where bad things happen at random?
Have you ever been SURE that you were being disciplined or reproved by the Lord? I haven’t.
However, God is sovereign. Everything that happens—EVERY TIME I suffer—I can assume God is in it or God is using it to help me grow. In other words, even when we cannot identify the source of our suffering, we can regard it as something God allowed in His wisdom and love. The point of Proverbs 3:11-12, a passage repeated verbatim in Hebrews 12:5-6, is that in ALL suffering, we can assume God is growing us. God is sovereign. God will use it, even if He did not cause it but merely allowed it.
Consider your struggles as God-ordained or God-allowed, and do not “faint when you are reproved by Him.” Instead, bend your will. Submit.
“Do not be stiff-necked, as your ancestors were. Submit to the Lord” 2 Chronicles 30:8.
“Whoever remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed without remedy” Proverbs 29:1.
Adapt. Submit. Bend your will. BEND—do not be stiff-necked.
“Some rolling with the punches is a fact of workplace life” E.E.O.C. v. Sunbelt Rentals, Inc. (2008) 521 F3d 306,315. In this life, you’re going to have to roll with the punches!
Dear Lord, remind us to submit. To roll with the punches. To accept the circumstances You allow in our lives, to trust You, and to trust Your heart! You are always good and kind and loving and gracious and forgiving. Give us hearts that trust You and welcome the circumstances You allow. Show us when to fight and when to yield.
AΩ.
[1] This is a shorter version of a longer study here: https://dadsdailydevotionals.com/2026/06/03/where-do-hard-times-come-from-and-how-should-we-respond-proverbs-311-12/