By Paul Chappell
"And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh
unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord,
nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth,
and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth
with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?"
Hebrews 12:5–7
When our son Matthew was two years old, he loved to run the
other direction when we called him. He thought that was great fun. One day he
was playing on the front part of the lawn when I called him. He turned around
and ran right into the middle of the road. Thankfully, there weren’t any cars
coming, and he didn’t get hurt. Concerned for Matthew’s future safety, however,
I took him into the house where I gave him a correction to his behavior.
Why did I do that? Was I upset at Matthew? Not at all; I
just wanted to protect him from doing something that could hurt or even kill
him. In the same way, God chastens us—His children—for our own good. In fact
Hebrews 12:8 tells us that if we are not being chastised when we are doing
wrong, we are not really part of His family.
When hard times come, we are sometimes tempted to think that
perhaps God is being unfair or hard on us. Of course, not every difficulty that
comes into our lives is the result of some sin or failing, but there are times
when the pressures and trials we face are God’s way of trying to get our
attention and bring us back to doing right and to Him. When we refuse to listen
to what Proverbs 15:31 calls the "reproof of life," we place
ourselves into a very dangerous position. Don’t reject or despise God’s
chastening in your life. If you sense that God may be correcting you, submit to
Him and thank Him for His love.
Today's Rooted Principle:
If you are being chastened by the Lord, recognize it is done
in love and return to Him.
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