What does Proverbs 3:11 mean?
The God who guides, removes obstacles, and provides abundantly for His people can be trusted to discipline them for their good and His glory. Therefore, Solomon instructs his student not to despise the Lord's discipline or become weary of His reproof. To despise the Lord's discipline is to reject or minimize it. In common biblical use, this suggests the opposite of "preferring" something.To be weary of God's reproof is to loathe or abhor it. The Lord's discipline is not punishment; it is remedial. We learn much by being disciplined. We learn to identify actions that displease the Lord and impede our spiritual progress. When the Lord disciplined Jonah for his rebellious attitude, he prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. The whale was the Lord's messenger to save Jonah from the stormy sea, but is was also the means whereby the Lord taught Jonah to obey him (Jonah 1:10—2:10). Discipline in the Lord's hands is an effective tool He uses to shape us into the kind of people He wants us to be.