Daily Devotional for Sunday, August 14

Despise Not Chastening

People, in general, do not respond well to chastisement and correction. For most, the immediate and intense reaction is to bow up and resist. “Don’t tell me what to do; I do what I want.” Society today is predominantly populated by people who are going to do it how they want, and when they want. Fierce independence and personal freedom are what you want. A Christian is not exempt from this by any means; you just wrap it in a cloak of Christian freedom and carry on. 

You do have freedom in Jesus Christ. You are freed from the bondage of sin and are ultimately accountable directly to the Lord Jesus Christ. Your relationship with Jesus and God’s Word are where you should turn to learn how to live. Having said that, God places people in your life and around you to whom you are also accountable. God has delegated that to some in your life. It starts becoming a problem when you bow up against those who are legitimately called by God to guide and teach you. However, because both these folks and you are flawed sinners, they guide poorly sometimes, and you react poorly sometimes. 

On the other hand, God is quite perfect. When He guides and corrects, his goals, motivations and methods are perfect. Your Heavenly Father delights in you! He loves you and wants the best. He keeps and protects you by His correction. Considering this, it is amazing that you often treat God’s chastisement just like that from flawed humans; you bow up and resist. When you do this, you are taking the love God offers and throwing it right back in His face!

JUST A THOUGHT: Just like little children, if God was not standing by with a ready hand, you would dash right out into the traffic of life.

Wally Fry