“Do not gloat over me, my enemies! For though I fall, I will rise again. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. I will be patient as the Lord punishes me, for I have sinned against Him. But after that, He will take up my case and give me justice for all I have suffered from my enemies. The Lord will bring me into the light, and I will see His righteousness.” (Micah 7:8-9 NLT)
Notice a couple of things in the verses above. First, while the Lord does punish (discipline) us, it’s never for the purpose of hurting us, but always with correction in mind. Christ bore the punishment for our sin, but we will be disciplined (corrected) when we disobey God. Notice, secondly, the Lord brings us into His light, not to illuminate our badness, but His righteousness.
If you’ve never been disciplined by the Lord, you may not be walking as closely to Him as you think you are. Discipline is as much a part of our walk with God as prayer and worship, it just may look (feel) different than what we received when we were kids.
The first step in understanding the Lord’s discipline of us is that it isn’t for punitive purposes, it is for correction of wrong or inappropriate actions or behavior, including wrong thoughts (i.e. thinking wrongly about God, the Church, self, others, etc.). Think, too, of the disciplines we learn in order to walk the straight paths of righteousness (i.e. reading and studying the Scriptures, prayer, service, the Lord’s Supper, Baptism, etc.).
Disciplines are the formation of practices that we learn and/or follow in our pursuit of Christlikeness. An undisciplined believer is an oxymoron. To not be disciplined is to not be loved. Proverbs 3:11-12 reads in the NLT: “My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline, and don’t be upset when He corrects you. For the Lord corrects those He loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.”
Throughout life we develop habits and/or attitudes that are displeasing to the Lord. As a teen I was extremely jealous and possessive in my relationship with my girlfriend, that not only cost me my relationship with her, but hurt my walk with the Lord. As a young adult I was so focused on making a living I got sidetracked from making a life.
In these two scenarios and in many more I/we seek to run our own lives, often in an effort to do for ourselves what only God can do. We want to be the proverbial Captain of our own “ship,” ignoring the clear signs that reveal we’re not really “Captain” material. God alone knows the future, thus, qualifying Him alone to help prepare us for what only He knows is coming.
Inevitably, our efforts to live life on our terms lead to failures that can, and often do, change the course of our lives. The good news is, nothing catches God by surprise, He sees our life from beginning to end, so, He can redeem our failures and use them to better equip us for what He knows is coming. Often, before we’re willing to make needed changes, He has to allow us to paint ourselves into the proverbial “corner,” putting ourselves in a situation out of which we’re forced to trust Him.
Thankfully, God is good and is willing to walk with us each step of the way, guiding us into needed change and the formation of a new mindset that allows us to overcome the selfishness that is preventing us from overcoming the sin that has us bound. Gratefully, failure doesn’t have to be final.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 