Fight Fear: Anticipate the Sweetness

The Rewards of Discipline

“Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.” Isaiah 54:4

When I was a child, my mother placed a pill in a spoonful of honey to help me swallow the medicine. Pairing the bitter with the sweet worked every time. As I grew older, however, I learned that the sweet more often comes after the bitter—good grades after studying, weight loss after denial, vacation money after thriftiness.

The seventy years of exile in Babylon were a time of bitterness for God’s people. They had worshiped idols instead of remaining loyal to the one true God, so he disciplined them. After the shame and humiliation of the exile, he brought sweetness—their return to the Promised Land.

The prophet Isaiah celebrates this promised sweetness in chapter 54, and his words remind us that after God disciplines those he loves, he blesses them. Isaiah highlights three blessings God provides after he allows a period of bitterness.

After discipline comes joy (Isaiah 54:1). Because God has forgiven our sins and renewed our desire to please him, we feel as joyful as a pregnant woman who thought she was barren or a bride who thought she had been jilted. This joy drives away the shame and guilt of past failures; it also fills us with the peace of God’s presence and the satisfaction of his approval.

After discipline comes confidence. God loves us and our eternal place is secure (Isaiah 54:5–6). We rest in the assurance of his promise: “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed” (v. 10).

After discipline comes victory. God says, “Tyranny will be far from you; you will have nothing to fear … whoever attacks you will surrender to you” (54:14–15). We are his children, and he protects us from evil. No weapon forged against us—guilt, shame, or failure—can sever us from our position as God’s children or jeopardize our eternal inheritance in heaven (v. 17).

Hardship and discipline are unpleasant, but we can remain hopeful if we focus instead on the promises of joy, confidence, and victory God provides after the bitterness has passed. The God who loves us will walk alongside us through the difficulty and provide the hopeful perspective we need.

Are you looking beyond present bitterness and anticipating future sweetness? If not, ask God to help you refocus on the blessings that will surely come.

Dig Deeper

Read Isaiah 54. Which of God’s honey-sweet promises in this passage are most meaningful to you at this time?

Jesus quoted Isaiah 54:13 in John 6:45. What sweetness did his teachings bring after the bitter pills of the Mosaic law? (Consider Matthew 11:28–30, John 10:31–36, John 14:15–21.)

Read Hebrews 12:1–15. What does this passage teach us about the bitterness of discipline and the sweetness of its results? What sweet results have you tasted after God has disciplined you?

Denise K. Loock

This devotion is part of our “Do Not Be Afraid” series.