Navigating Chastisement: Embracing Truth in the Light of Proverbs 3:11-12
Proverbs 3:11-12
“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor detest His correction; 11. For whom the Lord loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.”
Most folks take every hardship and every negative situation and ascribe Father’s will to it. The God-allowed crowd confounds truth and lies with no discernment. I did too and I misjudged Father on many occasions.
I knew that He used chastisement to mold me into agreement with His marvelous new creation identity that He provided for me but I figured that I failed at every level to be like Jesus and needed constant pressure and punishment to conform.
I saw how I didn’t measure up to the example of Jesus Christ. I thought because of that failure I deserved judgment and punishment. I confused the consequence of my actions, the attack of Satan, and the temptations of this fallen world system for chastisement.
Father always looks for an opportunity to instruct us in righteousness. He will use sickness but He doesn’t have to. He can use poverty but He always provides for our prosperity. He is the Author of life and the giver of grace not the mean-spirited, “I told you so!”…you made your bed now lie in it!”, a god of this age who loves to confuse us with emotions and wrong teachings about our marvelous Father.
Once I saw that satan was manipulating situations and suggesting that Father was “punishing” me for my sin and I was living out the “consequences” of my actions I realized that I needed to take thoughts captive and cling to the truth that Father does NOT treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities, but rather cleanses us from All unrighteousness. If I were to be held accountable for all my sins I would have been killed a long time ago.
Jesus has taken AWAY our sins! When the Father speaks a truth to our hearts that is contrary to what we firmly believe, then we know we have to change our minds and conform to His truth. Being imitators of Christ means being confident in our identities just as Jesus was confident in who He was. Father is not asking us to try and be Jesus Christ, we only need one Jesus Christ.
He is just asking us to be His kids in steadfast confidence. A steadfast grip on the truth that we are new creations and the old man is crucified and dead will transform us into the image of Christ faster than the strongest willpower available to mankind.
Chastisement and correction are necessary but, beware of counterfeit measures employed to stifle our growth in our new creation identity and to trap us in endless tradition and religion. Today let’s let truth infiltrate and occupy our thoughts!
Father, I’m extremely grateful for Your truth. I know that You have done monumental work in me. I am a new creation filled with Holy Spirit, wisdom, and discernment. I see that I have embraced lies in the past and I know that You will teach me how to overcome lies with Your truth. I am free from all the old ways because my flesh is crucified with Christ and no longer lives. Thank You for your correction and chastisement. I know that You have much more to teach me. I have eyes to see and ears to hear. I will listen to Your Voice alone. I love You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.