Focus: Psalms 118:18 - KJV
18. The LORD hath chastened me sore: but he hath not given me over unto death.
2 Corinthians 6:3-10
Our God is a merciful God who does not wish any to die but come to repentance and live. By His nature however, He hates sin even though He loves man who has been led to sin. Hence, rather than condemn the sinning man to death, He wants the same to come to repentance. Such is achieved through chastisement that will turn his focus unto his God who is ready to receive him, if he fully repents of his evil. There is no pleasure in God to lose any man that He purposed to be in His image to His enemy, the devil. Effort is therefore, made to redirect the sinner unto righteousness through chastisement. It takes a form of some torture to the body, spirit or mind. While it is on, it is not palatable at all, even though it may last for just a while. Hence, it is always advisable to tow the path of honor by living in obedience rather than to deviate and be redirected through chastening.
David was a man after God’s own heart. Unfortunately, he misbehaved in the matter of Urriah and the Lord who is never partial, chastised him sore for that error. Not only did he lose the child product of his adulterous misadventure, he also got disrespected and dishonored even by his own son sleeping with his woman in the open. He learnt to return in line through suffering. If it were for the enemy, because he caused the death of Urriah, he should have died also. But that is not the way of the Lord. Saul of Tarsus who became Paul was also a murderer when he operated in ignorance. For his misdeeds, the Lord had promised chastisement as he was being redirected to becoming a vessel unto honor. He was also sore chastised in the course of ministry. God uses chastisement to keep those whom He loves in line. They that endure it to the end are saved.
The Lord wants us to know that He chastises those whom He loves to keep them in the right way. It is possible you are going through some form of chastisement and are assuming that God hates you. That is not true. The chastisement is to preserve your eternity if you will learn and obey the Lord’s commands going forward. Those who the father chastises but become adamant build themselves for destruction in the hands of the enemy. It is better to endure the Lord’s chastisement and learn obedience through it than fall into the hands of the enemy. He is merciless and a hater. All he does continually is to kill and destroy, majorly. Let us therefore be attentive in the face of chastisement, so that by God’s providence the days of the suffering may be shortened. In whatever we do, please never take offense against God; the alternative is heinous.
SOLUTION: Endure the Lord’s chastening as He would never allow you to be afflicted beyond what you can withstand. Lean on Him to succor you even in the time of chastisement. He is a great example of the African adage that says when a child is chastised with one hand, the other is used to draw him closer.
Please pray:
· Give praise to God for loving you and choosing to chastise you rather than condemn you to the enemy for destruction
· Ask God to please keep you forever in His bosom never to leave
· Pray that whatever you do, God should not chastise you in His hot displeasure
· Ask God to please cause the current chastisement to cease because of His love and mercy
· Ask for your daily bread today
If you are blessed by this post, kindly share with your contacts, as well as others, that they may be blessed also. Thank you and may God bless you abundantly as you do so, in Jesus’ name
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