When I was younger, I never enjoyed correction. I still don’t love it, but I do appreciate it now…when the Lord is doing the correcting. I’m in a season of truly feeling loved when God takes the time to correct me. It now has become clear that correction from God is the most loving thing.
When we allow someone to continue in a bad or destructive behavior, we are not loving them. It’s quite the opposite. There’s a reason that people who are deep into delusion are so hostile. They feel abandoned. They are like the toddler who is pushing the boundaries just to find out where they lie so they can live in safety. Why do they scream and demand and protest? Because the toddler side of them has never been shown not only where the line is, but also had someone in their life brave enough to hold the line.
To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction. The Lord approves of those who are good, but He condemns those who plan wickedness. Wickedness never brings stability, but the godly have deep roots. Proverbs 12:1-3
When we allow those we love to live out their wickedness, then we are allowing them to be under God’s condemnation. How is that loving? When we simply ignore wickedness, we condemn people to lives that are unstable. We are just turning a blind eye to the life that won’t have roots. Meaning, when troubles come, because they always do, they will have no roots to hold them steady.
I stand corrected.
I choose to allow God to correct any part of me that He deems as misdirected, unnecessary, hurtful, irreverent, etc. I give God an all-access pass to correct me. I want to have roots. I want to be in the grace of God, not the condemnation. This is a choice.
Do you stand corrected?
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God had set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now He is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility He endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin. And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as His children? He said, “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when He correct you. For the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes each one He accepts as His child.” As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as His own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? 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. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening- it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. So, take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong. Hebrews 12:1-13
365 Days in the Presence 