EMPOWERING LIVES WITH PURPOSE:
Many times, we can get punishment and correction confused in life. As a believer, I WANT God’s correction. I want to know He will lead me, guide me and look out for my best interests ahead. Oftentimes, it takes correcting me to show me where I’ve messed up.
“Let God train you; He is doing what any loving father does for his children. (Hebrews 12:7)
Punishment is a penalty for the past, but thank God He sent Jesus for the price of what should have been death. Correction, if you are God’s child, is training for your future.
Correction is discipline to us and not punishment. Unfortunately, many people think that when something bad happens, God is punishing them. God doesn’t punish us for our sins, but He does correct us, thankfully! There are wages of sin of course, which are death, if you die in your sin without acknowleging Christ. Read Romans 6:23.
But as a daughter of Christ, if He didn’t correct us, we wouldn’t be His children! Think about that and read this scripture:
“If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits and live forever? For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us so that we might share in his holiness.” (Hebrews 12:8-10)
Please allow God to train you, and do not take it as a negative. God’s correction is good for you, even if sometimes it brings pain. When we are following Jesus, it means that we are cooperating when God brings something that needs attention right to the forefront. Embrace it and do something about it. It’s happening for a reason.
When I knew God was correcting me when my previous marriage fell apart, I was living in a sinful state, not wanting to change it. I could not blame God for that. I knew I was not honoring Him in His word or being obedient. I had to surrender to His correction, face the circumstances of disobedience and make a change going forward. Thank God I did, and I’m thankful for His mercy on my life!
God has restored the brokenness of my past. I surrendered and repented. It was punishment; it was a correction of my disobedience. I still must face the consequences of the broken pieces of that place and time, but I know God loved me through it and forgave me of all of it when I surrendered the bad behavior to Him with repentance.
Yes, God’s correction is good.