No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:11 NIV

Changing the strings is my least favorite chore as a guitar player. I imagine there are players who pay someone else to do this for them, but over nearly sixty years, I have only had it done once and that during repairs. As I was wrestling away with unwinding the old strings, to make way for a new set yesterday, it struck me that God’s discipline in our lives is sometimes a lot like that process. For non-guitar folks out there, the simple truth is that our instruments do not stay tuned for long. After playing for even for twenty minutes, our instrument already is needing a twist or two on the tuning pegs. When play regularly, over three or four months we discover that even after a careful retuning, that the tone is sounding blah. Yes, the newer strings last a lot longer than what we had back in the sixties, but even our latest and greatest have a lifespan. The time for that new set makes itself known when you see a bit of a shredding here and there on the bass strings.

The same thing happens our own lives and unwelcome as the process is, God chooses seasons of restringing, which the Bible calls discipline. Just as with my guitar, restringing doesn’t mean I am mad at my instrument, nor am I contemplating trading it in for a new model. God’s discipline indicates that a simple retuning will no longer do. He knows what we need is a whole new set of circumstances, better friends, a new job or (you fill in the blank.} And just like restringing, discipline means both the long slow process of unwinding the old, as well as the tedious stretching and tensioning of the new. Relationships, habits or opinions that God intends to change have been there a long time and loosening them and pulling them out doesn’t happen in an instant. We moan and groan as God slowly pries our fingers loose from what we are dearly clinging on to, because we have difficulty trusting that the new set of strings that He has for us will sound far sweeter. But wait there’s more! But you will need to tune in for tomorrow’s post to hear the rest of the story!