God's chastening is effective when it leads us to repentance and a deeper understanding of our need for His mercy.
The effectiveness of God's chastening can be seen through the sinner's response to it. As illustrated through Ephraim's example in Jeremiah 31, when chastisement leads to genuine repentance and an acknowledgment of one's sinful state, we find that it produces the intended outcomes. Ephraim, recognizing his need for God, earnestly prayed for transformation, stating, 'Turn thou me, and I shall be turned.' This sincere recognition of his inabilities highlights a major aspect of God's work in the heart of a believer. The subsequent feelings of shame and confounding Ephraim experienced were indicators of genuine repentance, which is rightly observed when one returns to God seeking His mercy.
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