Mensa Otabil - Accept God's Correction
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Proverbs 3:11 — 12: My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction; for whom the Lord loves, He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights. We’ve been looking at the Book of Proverbs, and chapter 3 starts by addressing «my son.» This does not mean that this is only for men or for males, but it is a parent speaking to a child. We take it as God the Father speaking to His children-the instructions that are important for us to live our lives.
Here, we have been introduced to an aspect of God that most times we forget: that God, as a Father, doesn’t only give good gifts to us, but He also corrects us. The God who can be trusted to smooth the paths and obstacles in our way should also be trusted to smooth the flaws in our character. If we want God to move mountains out of our way, we must also trust Him to move character defects out of us. If we can trust Him to supply all our needs, then we can trust Him to discipline us. The Bible says that God chastens, and God corrects.
The word «chasten» means to discipline or to train, and essentially, it is like making something straight. It’s like when a tree is growing; a straight rod is held to the tree so that it will grow straight. That is chastening-that is the discipline and the training for the tree to be upright. The Bible also talks about correction. Correction is different; it’s when you have gone wrong, when you’ve become crooked, and He has to rebuke and correct you to straighten you. So God straightens us so that we will not be crooked, but if we become crooked, or when we do become crooked, He will straighten us up; He will rebuke us, and He will punish us.
The warning is twofold: He says, «do not despise» and «do not detest» when God is doing that to you. In other words, when God is correcting you, don’t be angry and don’t despise it; don’t take it lightly, and don’t walk away from the discipline because He is doing it out of love. There are many ways in which God disciplines His children. When we go astray, sometimes He turns His eyes away from us. In other words, He is not watching us; that doesn’t mean God doesn’t see us -He sees us-but His protective covering is removed from us.
Sometimes, God removes His favor from us, and sometimes He removes His hand, His power, from manifesting. You can go through a season where it almost seems as if God has left you. He hasn’t left you because the Bible says He loves you, and He is doing something in your life for you. You need to sit back and ask yourself, «Why is my Father not doing this for me as He has been doing all the time? Why is my Father not providing these things that He used to provide for me? Why am I going through the things I’m going through?»
If you ask yourself those questions, you will probably come to the realization that something you have done has turned you away from your Father, your Father God, and He wants you to come back to Him. So when things go wrong in our lives, we shouldn’t simply blame the devil. I know that’s the first thing people want to do, but it is worthwhile for us to ask ourselves, «What is God telling me? What is God teaching me? What does God want me to learn from this?» Because if He loves us to move mountains out of our way, He loves us also to move wrong character out of our lives, and we must trust God to move both the mountains and the flaws in our character. The Lord chastens, and the Lord corrects, and may you have a heart that receives correction from God without turning away from Him.
Let’s share a word of prayer. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, I know You love me and want the best for me. Help me to receive Your discipline and Your correction with a good heart. In Jesus' name, Amen.» Amen.