Day 20~ Our God who Corrects us

Have you been blind sighted? Have you been led astray?
Has the charming and beautiful night changed into the darkness of day?
It's alright, you need not fear, everything will be okay,
That's because, God's correction can lead you in the right way.

Proverbs 3:11-12 says;

"My child, when the Lord corrects you, pay close attention and take it as a warning. The Lord corrects those he loves, as parents correct a child of whom they are proud."

In life, we are sometimes led astray and tempted to do things that are not pleasing in God's sight.

It is in these times that God corrects us.

God corrects us in a number of ways; he may send another person to tell us about it, our conscience may talk to us about it thus leading us to feel guilty, he may send us dreams or he may put us in situations that bring out that bad quality or trait.

There are many other ways in which God may bring our faults to our attention.
Then he gives us multiple chances to change our ways.

A really good example of God correcting his people in the Bible is the example of King David.

Now, 2 Samuel 11-12 tells the story of how King David had committed adultery by sleeping with a married woman. To make matters worse, she had become pregnant. That woman was Bathsheba.

Now, the husband of Bathsheba was Uriah the Hittite and he served in David's army. On learning of Bathsheba's pregnancy, David called Uriah back home in hopes that he would go home and sleep with his wife and would come to believe that the child was his own.

However, he refused to go home saying that his allies were camping in the open so how could he go home, eat and drink and sleep with his wife. David then tried to get him drunk but still he would not go home.

Thanks to his previously failed plans, David secretly ordered that Uriah be sent to the front lines to be killed, thus Uriah died.

Now, he might have been able to hide his mistake from Uriah, but he could not hide his mistake from our all knowing God.

God sent the prophet Nathan to David to accuse him of his crimes. David repented but still, as punishment, the child he then had with Bathsheba became sick and died.

In this way, the Lord corrected David and showed him that what he had done was wrong.

Of course Bathsheba eventually gave birth to Solomon who would become Israel's next King.

Now Solomon also was reprimanded by God for sinning. He took many foreign wives who led him away from God, but unlike King David, he did not change his ways and so he lost God's favor and God took away most of the Kingdom from Solomon, leaving him, (or rather, his son) with only one part.

Now you see, God corrects his people, but it is up to us to accept his correction and change the way we live. God is our King and so we must live a life pleasing to him so that he will bless us and the future generations.

Hebrews 12: 5-6 reminds us of what was written in Proverbs;

"My child, pay attention when the Lord corrects you, and do not be discouraged when he rebukes you. Because the Lord corrects everyone he loves, and punishes everyone he accepts as a child."

If God is correcting you in some way in your life, it shows that he loves you and that he wants you to do the right thing because you are his child.

Think about that thing that God is trying to get you to give up on. Maybe it's harming you more than it's helping you, maybe it's taking away your peace. Maybe it's putting you in trouble or getting in between the relationship you have with God. Maybe it's the only thing between you and your destiny!

Today, I want to encourage you to follow in the footsteps of King David, he repented and he accepted God's correction unlike his son, King Solomon, from whom the Kingdom was taken away.

God corrects those he loves as a parent corrects their child. I pray today that we accept God's correction in our lives so that we can live happy, healthy lives that please God.