5 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;
Nor be discouraged
“Discouraged” is to faint or break down and become despondent. A bad attitude toward the circumstances of our lives leads to despair and defeat. For those who bear the name of Christ to allow themselves this indulgence indicates that the Christian life cannot deal with failure.
The person who is not discouraged by God’s discipline on his soul shows that he has not “despised” what God does.
PRINCIPLE:
There is no place for a defeated and immobilized Christian in God’s economy.
APPLICATION:
Christians take courage in that their trials come from Fatherly discipline. The believer is not to allow God’s discipline to defeat him. He is to bear God’s work on his heart with endurance (He 12:7). There is no place for an immobilized Christian in God’s economy. A discouraged person does not grasp the need and purpose for divine discipline. Reproof is necessary for God to get our attention. Discipline causes dissonance, and dissonance produces fundamental change. Resentment, on the other hand, will stifle the maturity process.
