Living as a follower of Christ is no walk in the park. There are battles with the flesh, taunts of those who look down on Christians, long-term sufferings, and temptations to give up. Christians are not exempt from suffering. That’s what Christians in the book of Hebrews were experiencing, and we often find ourselves in the same place. So how is a child of God to view the painful circumstances of life? Are they evidence of God’s anger toward me for my sin? Or could they be the kind hand of a loving Father? Hebrews 12 gives us both an explanation of what God’s discipline is as well as a blueprint for how Christians should respond to it. May God help us to understand his kind hand of discipline, appreciate it, and submit to his training in our lives.