Daily Devotional for Saturday, August 13

Self-chastening

In the workplace, employers expect their employees to grow and develop into workers who require little or no supervision. In fact, the ability to perform with minimal guidance is a hallmark of an employee who exceeds expectations. This does not happen accidentally; being this employee requires intentional effort. You must learn your job and the policies and procedures of the place where you work. More importantly, being that employee requires self-examination; you must constantly evaluate how you measure up to the expectations of your employer. When you do that, and change accordingly, then you can become the employee who exceeds expectations. There is more; you can avoid the unpleasantness of being disciplined or chastised by your employer. 

That is rather like your Lord in a lot of ways. He has expectations of you, and because He loves you and wants you to have spiritual success, He is sometimes forced to apply corrective action to your life. He does not want that to be a way of life for you. A spiritual life under constant chastisement is not a desired outcome. God wants workers who will exceed expectations and perform His work independently. You must mature, grow, pray and study God’s Word to become that person. Most importantly, you must examine yourself by looking into the mirror of God’s Word and see how you stack up in comparison. 

What do you do when you look in the mirror? Do you walk away, accepting what you see and never change? Or do you realize where you have failed and adjust yourself? (See James 1:23.)

JUST A THOUGHT: Who would look in the mirror and walk away a mess? Likewise, only a foolish person looks into God’s Word and walks away unchanged.

Wally Fry