“It is for
discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is
there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without
discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate
children and not sons.” Hebrews 12:7-8 (NASB)
It seems funny to me when you hear people
say, “I’m grown” as if it’s not
noticeable already. But does that mean that everyone else are children? God sees us as His children, and as such we must
endure His chastening from time to time. Correction is something that grown folks don’t
take to kindly too, but we hand out correction to our children, in order to
direct them on the right path. God does
the same with His children, we have all had days, even months when at every
turn there seems to be a battle waiting to confront us, and there are reasons why
we just can’t seem to get ahead of all the troubles. One important thing to
remember before I go on, is we can’t live as we please or do what as we please
or treat others as we please knowing we are His Children. The seeds that we sow
will one day come to full harvest and we will reap what we have sown. God’s
Word has given us an answer for our rebellious ways and the reason for our
chastisement:
“My
son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of His
corrections. For whom the LORD
loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.” (Prov. 3:11,12)
God’s purpose for discipline is when He sees that we
are depending upon the worlds way of handling things more than upon Him. Or that we have become lax in our spiritual
walk and our old ways are beginning to pick up strength, like a car going downhill.
Teaching is necessary to help us go the way God desires for us and discipline
is necessary to render that teaching to be effectual. Correction is mandatory to
bring our minds into submission, without which it cannot acquire knowledge. Never
reject the procedure or process of God, only humble yourself under His mighty
hand. It is no use trying to rebel, for
every act of rebellion against God, is a wound to your own soul. God will either end you or mend you; the
choice is yours.
He loves us and He wants the best for His children. “…we have had fathers of our flesh
which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in
subjection unto the Father of Spirits, and live? (Heb. 12:9). It is never pleasant to
be corrected or discipline by God. But this discipline is a sign of His deep
love for each of us. When God corrects us, you must see it as poof of His love.
How we respond to His correction has a
lot to say; again we can accept it with resignation, we can accept it with
self-pity, we can be angry and resentful toward God or we can accept it
gratefully, as this is the appropriate response – the choice is yours.
“As many as I love, I rebuke:
and chasten be zealous therefore, and repent” (Rev. 3:11)
God is not only a disciplining parent but also a
demanding coach who pushes us to our limits and He requires our lives to be
discipline. We may not feel strong enough to push on to victory, but as long as
we keep following Christ we can draw upon His strength to make it through. Most
of our thinking is not all that great and we tend to make choices out of fear,
anger, jealousy, spite and so many more emotions that leads us down the path of
bad choices, which then leads to more intense correction from the hand of God. Matthew
Henry said it best and in a clear and precise way that one cannot miss the true
meaning of the scriptures above.
“There is a proneness
in believers to grow weary, and to faint under trials and afflictions; this is
from the imperfection of grace and the remains of corruption. Christians should
not faint under their trials. Though their enemies and persecutors may be
instruments to inflict sufferings, yet they are Divine chastisements; their
heavenly Father has his hand in all, and his wise end to answer by all. They
must not make light of afflictions, and be without feeling under them, for they
are the hand and rod of God, and are his rebukes for sin. They must not despond
and sink under trials, nor fret and repine (complain), but bear up with faith
and patience. God may let others alone in their sins, but he will correct sin
in his own children. In this he acts as becomes a father. Our earthly parents
sometimes may chasten us, to gratify their passion, rather than to reform our
manners. But the Father of our souls never willingly grieves nor afflicts his
children. It is always for our profit. Our whole life here is a state of
childhood, and imperfect as to spiritual things; therefore, we must submit to
the discipline of such a state. When we come to a perfect state, we shall be
fully reconciled to all God's chastisement of us now. God's correction is not
condemnation; the chastening may be borne with patience, and greatly promote
holiness. Let us then learn to consider the afflictions brought on us by the
malice of men, as corrections sent by our wise and gracious Father, for our
spiritual good.” (Matthew Henry Concise Bible Commentary)
If truth be told, we bring on God’s chastisement
because we persistently ignore His guidance, and insistently take our own path.
Even though that still small voice deep within us says not to do that, we turn
a deaf ear and proceed down destruction avenue. We should never listen to the
voice that goes against the will of God or that puts an uneasy feeling within
us. Our faith is not in figuring a way out or listening to the counsel or
advice of others, but we must humble ourselves under His hand of judgment. We must
look to Him for direction and guidance as children. However, He chooses to
bring correction, it is imperative that we keep our faith in the promises of
God, we must keep our focus on Him, we must remember how much He loves us, we
must repent of our wrong and we must endure chastisement till our hearts are
turned and our minds renewed by His Word and by His loving hand. Claim the
promises of God, resist the devil who walks about like a roaring lion, and
never give him any place in your life.
For God tells us: “I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when
he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of
the sons of men, but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him…” 2 Samuel 7:14-15 (NASB)
Father, sometimes I don’t understand the “why” of
situations that happen in my life and I know that I may have caused much of my
own suffering by going and doing what I thought was right, without
acknowledging you. I ask your forgiveness for my wrong thinking, I ask your
forgiveness for not taking heed to the voice of your Holy Spirit. I ask
forgiveness for being foolish to think my way was better than yours. I know
that when I am judge I will be chasten of you Lord, that I may not be condemn
with this world. For you told me clearly, be not deceived; God is not mocked:
for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap. For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and
scourgeth every son who he receiveth. Thank you Father, for I am your child,
for if I endure chastening, I know that you deal with me as your child.
Chosen2Prayer…
