The Lord disciplines His children because He loves them…
…“My child, do not regard
lightly the discipline of the Lord, or
lose heart when you are punished by him;
for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves, and chastises every child whom he accepts.”
for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves, and chastises every child whom he accepts.”
(Hebrews 12:5-6, citing
Proverbs 3: 11-12)
Maturing as Christians requires spiritual growth. If we are to grow-up to be more like Christ, we need training and guiding…just like young trees which need stakes and binding to guide them, we need strapping closely to Jesus, a daily devotional life which genuinely seeks The Lord’s guidance. If we don’t, we will grow wild and untamed which will not reflect Jesus, whom we know is the pure, light of the world…
A very real part of a devoted Christian life is discipline
and yes, even punishment, as the verse above states! And this can be tough. I can admit honestly that I don’t really want
discipline and punishment even if it is for my benefit…I didn’t like it as a
child from my earthly parents and my sinful nature doesn’t like it now either
as an adult. Just like fruit trees which
need careful pruning for the best, fullest fruit to come forth, we too
sometimes need to be stripped back and face realities…and yes, this is not
easy.
But God is good, always, and this is why He disciplines
and chastises us. He is not some mean
task master or controlling parent. We
need correction, for how else will we be able to make wise, free-will choices
aligned with His will for our lives?
Furthermore, what good is an unruly child for the King’s house? I
believe if we truly love The Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength because
of what He has done for us, by making us His children, we will want to be an
obedient child who can be used by Him…And so, even if it is with tears, we will
accept His loving correction and not turn away.
Just like the lyrics by Matt Redman:
You give and take away, give and take away, my heart will choose to say, Lord blessed be Your Name… (Blessed be Your Name, Matt Redman)
I was convicted of something last night, I heard very
loudly The Lord’s rebuke over my untimely action through scripture…and yes, it
was very hard to hear.
At first I wondered am I hearing right? Yet I knew I was…and I was disappointed, thinking
about how foolish I had been. Yet I also
realised with God’s help that this situation is still part of a new season for
me and that my heavenly Father was correcting me for my benefit. So although it was not easy to do, I repented…I
asked for forgiveness and have chosen with His help to not repeat my action…I
have chosen to allow Him to prune me in this which I know will allow growth.
Scripture is just so wonderful for helping us to hear God. Timothy 3: 16-17 is so true…'All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.'
Proverbs 3: 11-12, as mentioned at the beginning of this
post, in regards to The Lord’s correction of us due to His love, is followed by
verses which state true wealth is God’s wisdom…more precious than the finest
jewels…a way for a peaceful life with God.
So in this I see a very real connection…
I know that as a daughter of the living God, He will
correct and chastise me because of His genuine love for me and His desire for
me to live a peaceful, Christ-like life.
I understand that I am on a life-journey with Him and need to grow in
His wisdom to mature, so I can be a vessel available for Him to use to help
others…and that I cannot grow in wisdom if I do not stay close to Him through a
daily devoted life, reading His Word.
The Lord is good always and this includes times of
discipline and punishment…may we grow in maturity and be able to say, ‘Praise
The Lord’ in all of life’s seasons and lessons.
Be blessed as you are corrected in His mighty love, Melanie.
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