Daily Devotional for Wednesday, August 10

The Lord Chastens

You have probably seen children in public places who are behaving horribly; many times, parents just ignore such behavior, and the little children just keep it up. How many times have you wanted to intervene and deal with them yourself? Of course, you would likely never do that. And why not? The answer is, of course, because they do not belong to you; they are not your children. Strictly speaking, their misbehavior is not your problem. On the other hand, you would absolutely intervene if your own child was behaving badly and correct their behavior. By teaching them right from wrong, you show your love. 

God is referred to as Father many times in the Bible. As any good earthly father would, your Heavenly Father loves you. Because He loves you, He gives you wonderful gifts, provides for your day-to-day needs, and protects you from harm. You love that. Your earthly father may have done some things that, as they happened, you really did not love that much. You really hate to be chastised; yet, as any good Father, your Lord wants you to behave certain ways and be good citizens. Since you did not come out of the womb knowing how to behave, or sometimes just behave rebelliously, occasionally God has to apply corrective action. Sometimes your Heavenly Father chastens you. 

While painful, you really ought to rejoice when God bothers to chasten you. Why should you rejoice over this? Because that means God is your Father! Like you in the grocery store, God is not in the business of chastening those who are not His children. 

JUST A THOUGHT: Even saved sinners do not know how to act most of the time; the chastening hand of God your Father keeps you on the right path.

Wally Fry