We have heard of the saying: Spare the rod and spoil the child.
If we are wondering about the origins of that saying, it could have come from a book in the Bible called Proverbs.
In that book there are many phrases concerning parents disciplining their children:
Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them. (Proverbs 13:24)
Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die. (Proverbs 23:13)
But that is just some advice for parents about how to bring up their children.
It is to remind us that the Lord will also discipline us but it is for our good - For the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights. (Proverbs 3:12)
Yes, the Lord is loving and forgiving, merciful and compassionate.
But the Lord will also give us "the bread of suffering and the water of distress" just as He gave that to His people in order to wake them up from their sinfulness and unfaithfulness, as the 1st reading puts it.
On the hand, it can also be said that we bring down the sufferings and distress on ourselves because we always reap what we sow.
Whatever the case may be, just as as the prophet Isaiah said that the Lord who is the teacher will hide no longer and they will see their teacher with their own eyes, Jesus our Saviour will come to us in our sufferings and distress.
So let us allow the Lord to discipline us so that we may walk in His ways and follow His paths.