When God rebukes us

“Should it be said, O house of Jacob: ‘Is the Spirit of the Lord angry? Does He do such things?’
“‘Do not My words do good to him whose ways are upright?’” Micah 2:7
Micah had been prophesying about how God would send the nation into exile (Mic. 2:3). But the people told him that God wouldn’t do that to them; He would not send disaster (Mic. 2:6). They had a false confidence in their own self-worth, thinking because they were God’s chosen people, that He would not allow bad things to happen to them. Some Christians can develop the same attitude: that if God loves us so much, why does He allow bad things to happen to us?
But the truth is that God will discipline us, if we need it. He does so because He cares for us, as we read in Heb. 12:7-11. “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons... God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness.”
So we should listen to God’s words, even when (and perhaps especially when) He rebukes us. If we would learn our lessons early on, before sin really takes root in our lives and becomes a real problem, life would be so much easier. It’s up to us. God’s words always have the aim of producing good things in our lives. If He does rebuke us, it is only because He cares – that’s why we should listen!