Have you seen young children test their parents by doing something they have just been told not to? For example, the child throws his or her food on the floor, the parent in a teaching voice says “no don’t do that,” and puts the food back in front of the child. The child proceeds to throw the food on the floor again, So the parent disciplines the child by taking the food away, completely; A simple example of a parent disciplining the child to teach right and wrong.

In a similar way, Proverbs 3:11-12 tells us, “My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you. For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.”

It is different in ways, because we cannot see God standing their telling us not to do something, like a parent. However, maybe some of those things that seem to be coincidences are actually God disciplining us; Misplacing our car keys shortly after thinking how irresponsible our spouse was for misplacing something, or muttering something impolite at another driver, then finding a parking ticket on our car when we come out of the store.

When these inconvenient coincidences occur, we should stop and ask ourselves whether God is trying to discipline and teach us something to make us better.

Dear Lord, help us be aware of your discipline in our lives and work on taking your guidance so we can become better Christians. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.