Is Your Hardship A Discipline From God?

DEUTERONOMY 8:1-5

Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the LORD promised on oath to your forefathers. Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.


As I read this I can't help but wonder how many of my past hardships were actually God's discipline. And how many could have been avoided.

No doubt, Satan himself has a hand in hardships. Look at Job. Satan wanted to test Job's faithfulness to God so he poured on the hardship. Job was tested more than most will ever see in their life time.

It is easy to blame Satan for every hardship we endure. It makes us feel like the martyr. "Enduring for Jesus!" "I must be doing something right because Satan is reaking havoc in my life!" "Satan stole my job!"

How many of our hardships are really from Satan? How many are really God disciplining us due to our disobedience?

The Israelites were greatly disciplined by God when they were roaming in the desert. If they had obeyed God's Word and Moses' commands, they would have avoided all this. They roamed for 40 years and lacked food for a season. Satan wasn't doing this to prevent them from entering the Promise Land. God took food from them to humble them.

Why did God choose hunger as discipline? God's Word is "food" and in verse 3 God said He did it "to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD." If the Israelites had listened to God's Word and obeyed they would not have lacked food.

God values His Word. Why? He knows how powerful it is. He knows His ways are better than our ways. He knows the beginning and the end of every situation. Therefore, many hardships could be avoided if we would just listen to the one who knows all instead of thinking we know all.

God isn't a mean Father either. He loves us so much He doesn't want us to continue on our road to destruction. Hebrews 3:4-6 says "In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."

If you are going through some hardships examine yourself. Are you the cause of it? Did you disobey or make poor choices to bring this on? If so, repent and dive into the Bible. Read what it has to say about your situation. Then do what it says. God does know more. His direction is there to guide you away from hardships.