February 28, 2021

My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of His correction:
For whom the LORD loveth He correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.
Proverbs 3:11-13
It’s a good thing to be chastised by the Lord. It means that He loves me, and it means that He loves you. In fact, we should all be looking for signs of God’s chastisement and asking ourselves when something happens or does not happen, is this God chastising me?
As I was reading Proverbs 3:11-12, I got to thinking what does it look like when God chastises His children? Is it a feeling, a message, a sign, a word, or scripture? Is it not getting something, or a delay in getting something? Is it having a bad day? But, I quickly realized that God doesn't send His children anything bad, but a challenging day, yes. I came to the conclusion that it could be any and all of these things.
Proverbs 3:11-13 reminds me of a life changing experience that I had when I was about 10 years old. My Mom went to run some errands and I was at home alone. I knew the rules- I was not to go in her room. But my curiosity took over and got the best of me, and as soon as I was for sure my Mom was gone, I went in her room.
I decided to first look through her top dresser drawer, the one that had all of her makeup and who knew what else. Her room was like a treasure trove to me. I was snooping, being sneaky, and in a bad way enjoying looking through her drawer.
Well, just when I was going through all of the treasure full of things that were in the drawer, to my horror, I dropped the drawer and it broke! Brown makeup powder went all over my Mom’s white fluffy rug. Things got even worse for me when I heard the front door open and heard my Mom joyfully call out “ Callie”. My Mom called me Kitty, but Callie, that was something special. That meant she was super happy and more than likely brought me back a treat.
My little heart was beating so fast, I thought it was going to jump out of my chest. I thought I was going to pass out, right there on that white rug in all of that brown powder. I looked at the broke drawer and all of the brown makeup on the rug and I knew that I was in B-I-G trouble, as there was no time to clean up the mess that gave me away and fix what I had done.
I knew there was only one thing for me to do -confess and take my whoopin. So, with the belt in my hand, and my legs shaking I went downstairs. My mom met me with a big smile and puzzled look. I was not smiling, and I’m sure had a look of pure dread on my face. She asked me why I was looking like that and why I had a belt in my hand. I told her I deserved a whoopin for going in her room, being disobedient, and going through her things. I told her that I dropped her drawer and it broke and brown makeup powder was all over her white rug.
My Mom looked at me very disappointed. I could see the disappointment and let down in her eyes. That hurt me even more than the whoopin I was expecting. She stood there in silence for what seemed to me an eternity, with my mind frantically wondering, what is she thinking, what is she going to do. My Mom spoke in a very calm voice and said “I’m very disappointed in you”. She told me she was not going to whoop me, but for me to go to my room. I asked her to forgive me and told her how sorry I was. With that sad and disappointed look, she said she forgave me. I went to my room and I cried, and I cried. I was so very sad seeing my mom’s smile fade so quickly and knowing that it was all because of my actions.
I was changed that day though, for good. I learned about the consequences of being disobedient. I learned that when you have a plan you can't control what's on the other side of that plan, so make sure that your plan is doing the right thing for the right reason. I learned about mercy, grace, and forgiveness. I also learned about having wisdom and understanding and being led by the Holy Spirit, as I didn't know until later that my mom had shown me what wisdom looks like when you're led by the Holy Spirit instead of your emotions.
Wow! My mom chastised me that day even though in my 10-year-old mind I thought I had escaped a whoopin. I realized that I got chastised, nonetheless. I got chastised in a different way through her love for me.
This lesson, among many that would follow, taught me to not despise the chastisement of the Lord, because whom the Lord loveth He corrects. I've also learned as I did back then, that chastisement from the Lord comes in many different ways and forms.
This experience opened my eyes and mind to the fact that there are things that we do that we just know are wrong and we need to say Lord I just need a whoopin. And then there are things that are not as apparent to us, so we need to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us what’s deep in our heart. God may give us less than we deserve- that’s mercy. God may also give us more than we deserve- that’s grace. God knows His children and handles each one of us differently, because only He knows what it will really take to get through to us and make a lasting change. But one thing is for sure, His chastisement is only to make us better.
Recognize that sometimes God doesn’t allow us to get out of our mess so easily, so that we can have the opportunity to be chastised by Him and to do and be better. I realized that had the events not unfolded the way that they did- had I not dropped the drawer, had the drawer not broke, had the brown makeup powder not spilled all over the white fluffy rug, had my Mom not came back home just at that moment- I might have gotten away with all of my wrongdoing and continued to be a sneaky, disobedient little girl, and not the God-fearing, virtuous woman that I am today. I’m not perfect, but pleasing God is my number one goal. Working toward Godly perfection is always at the forefront of my heart, mind, body, soul, and spirit. Thank God for turning my mess into a message. Can you relate?
Today ask God through His Holy Spirit to show you where you need to be chastised, so that you can be better for Him. And then don't pull away from the Lord’s chastisement when He does chastise you. Know that God loves you and with each chastisement, He is drawing you closer to Him. He's making you more fit for His Kingdom.
Prayer:
Dear Father God,
Thank You Lord for Your chastisement. Lord, I know that You chastise whom You love and I humbly thank You for loving me like no other. Holy Spirit help me to be guided by You instead of any selfish desires that try to creep up and creep in and lead me to do things contrary to Your will. Give me an even greater yearning for You Lord and to do Your will first and foremost in all things. Lord open my eyes, my heart, and my mind and attune my spirit to know when You are chastising me so that I can gain wisdom and understanding, be a better person for You, and more fit for Your kingdom. I praise and love You Lord God with all of my heart, mind, body, soul, and spirit.
In Jesus name I pray and ask these things,
Amen
Copyright © 2021 Dr. Lou Ella V. Taylor PhD, CNS, RN
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