Page 22 - Evidence of Things Unseen

the area of coveting was clearly established, for the beginning of my getting out of debt was
the result of the worker’s compensation settlement I received from this injury. When I
understood the purpose of God’s discipline I did not mind the broken ankle and the torn
ligaments in my knee. I began to praise God and to thank Him for His discipline. I
confessed that He was righteous and just to discipline me in this manner. I had willfully
transgressed in the area of financial stewardship by obtaining credit cards and walking in
covetousness, and I could only agree that it was a just thing for God to discipline me in this
way. I was reminded that God disciplines those whom He loves and counts as sons, and I
knew all this was done out of love for me.
It is remarkable to think back about these events. I had disobeyed and as a result I had
gotten in a real bind. I was working day and night to pay bills and I was barely staying
afloat. In desperation my wife and I cried out to God. We confessed our sin and asked God
to be our provider once more. In His mercy He answered our prayers, and along with His
deliverance He sent me some much needed correction.
There is no possibility of my denying the presence of God in my life in any of these
events. I will not say that what happened to me was mere chance, or luck. It was the
sovereign hand of God manifested in my life. He ordered my steps, and one fateful step
resulted in some painful discipline.
God uses many such things in the lives of His children to get their attention and to
lead them back to righteousness. We read already where Paul informed the saints at Corinth
that many among them were weak and sick, and some had even died as a result of God’s
discipline for their sin. Not all physical infirmity is a result of sin, a fact that is easily proven
through Scriptures. Yet the apostle informs us that some infirmities are God’s discipline.
In Hebrews he also uses language that speaks of a limb being made lame. My right leg was
lame for a period of time as a result of God’s discipline, so we see that God also uses bodily
injuries to bring us needed correction. Paul also uses the word “scourges” to describe God’s
discipline, and by this we can understand that this discipline may be severe.
There are a myriad of ways in which God brings His discipline. He may cause us to
suffer a financial setback. He may discipline us by allowing us to be fired from a job, or
exposing some sin we had been trying to keep hidden. He may allow us to experience open
shame. As Paul stated, “all discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful.”
Discipline is not supposed to be a pleasurable experience, “yet afterwards it yields the
peaceful fruit of righteousness.”
If you are to begin experiencing the supernatural presence of God in your life, a good
place to begin is to recognize His hand of discipline. Have you thought that all of the
difficult experiences of your life were merely meaningless, chance occurrences to be
endured? Consider for a moment those saints in Corinth. Some were weak, and others sick
and some had even died. Do you suppose they all understood why they were weak and sick?
Do you think they all perceived why they were dying? No! And I am sure there were some
stubborn and carnal ones among them who still refused to acknowledge the hand of God’s
discipline upon them, even after receiving Paul’s words, and that many more died.
Why was this true then, and why is it true today? It is largely due to unbelief. Though
the saints may confess that God is all knowing and all powerful, though they may confess
that He is omnipresent, even to judging the thoughts and intents of every man’s heart, they
often live as if God is somewhere far removed from them. Many live as if God was unaware
of what just occurred in their life, and that they must inform Him of the matter lest He
should not notice. When things happen in their lives many Christians fail to discern that it