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If yoursquo;re feeling a bit got at, it could be that Godrsquo;s taking you through a period of correction. But thatrsquo;s okay. Parents, teachers, pastors, difficult mates and even-more-difficult colleagues can all be used as part of Godrsquo;s cosmic plan to discipline you. You might roll your eyeballs when some of them turn round to you saying that lsquo;itrsquo;s for your own goodrsquo;, but the reality is that it is. You may not want to hear this, but itrsquo;s actually pretty impressive that God arranges those difficult times or people into your life for you to learn lessons that actually make you holier...br /
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God knows though, yeah? Hebrews 12:11 admits that, lsquo;no discipline is enjoyable when itrsquo;s happening ndash; itrsquo;s painful!rsquo; (NLT)nbsp; The light at the end of the tunnel is the end product: yoursquo;ll be closer to God, with a more mature relationship, and better equipped to deal with the naff stuff of the world. (A stronger ldquo;Uprdquo; and a better ldquo;Outrdquo;).br /
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A warning: Being disciplined does NOT mean being punished. God hasnrsquo;t gone off you. If you emare/em feeling that way, check that yoursquo;re not being convicted of sin and get real with Him, but once yoursquo;ve done that, stand tall securely in His forgiveness and love for you. When you know God isnrsquo;t standing against you through your trials, you can know that Hersquo;s standing emwith/em you. And if thatrsquo;s the case, (to paraphrase Romans 8:31), embring it on/em.br /
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strongemWhat now?/em/strongbr /
The big decider for how well you come out of the hard times is how you see ldquo;being disciplinedrdquo;. Option 1: You shout back, assert your ldquo;rightsrdquo; and make life difficult for as many people as you can. Not Jesusrsquo; style. Option 2: Look for God in your difficult situation - what would He allow this to happen for? What can you grow in here? How can you live like Jesus would?/p