11 My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction:
12 For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
The blood of Jesus forgives our sins when we put our faith in Him. Why then should we need correcting?
There is an aspect of Christian culture that does not want to fight against sin, but instead wants to use the blood of Jesus as a cover for their sin and an excuse. They believe that a one-time verbal commitment to Jesus is sufficient. They do not expect—and even despise—the chastening of the Lord.
As we read earlier in Proverbs, fools despise wisdom and correction. The Lord does not delight in a fool. However, we have all been foolish and we all need the blood of Jesus. Those who are covered with His blood respectfully are not seen as fools. We have the righteousness of Jesus covering us so that we can approach God for forgiveness. We also have power through the Holy Spirit to learn righteousness and to overcome sin throughout the course of our lives.
Sometimes we are chastised in heart by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, so if we have the Spirit and we listen, we will hear conviction against our unrighteous thoughts and actions. Sometimes the Lord sends difficulties that will strengthen us or change our course. Sometimes the Lord takes things away from us that are harmful or so that we can learn to trust Him better.
We can experience chastisement in many ways, large and small. If we become better at hearing the small corrections and obeying, then we will need fewer large corrections. In any case, Jesus will do what He must to get our attention if we truly belong to Him.
As Christians, we are not appointed to wrath, but we do experience the chastisement of the Lord and we might feel tempted to confuse the two. We might feel as if God is against us or as if He has forsaken us, especially if the chastening is difficult to handle.
When we feel this way, we should call out to Jesus all the more. He hears and He will make a way for us. We can find consolation in the crucifixion of Jesus. He felt forsaken, but He rose from the dead. Even if we meet an unpleasant end, we are not forsaken. We will have a glorious resurrection through Jesus.
It is also worth noting that some unpleasant things are not chastisement, but opportunity to honor the Lord. Some blessings come in the form of suffering for the name sake of Jesus.
All things are working together for our good if we love Jesus and are called according to His purposes. This includes chastisement. We should expect it and do our best to embrace it. The chastening of the Lord makes us stronger, wiser, and more upright.
How can a Christian understand the difference between God’s correction and Satan’s accusations so that they can embrace correction instead of using the blood of Jesus to hide from correction in vain? How can I help Christians come out of soft Christian culture and see suffering for Jesus as a good thing? I will be thinking about this today. I think a detailed discussion about the chastisement of God and suffering for Jesus might be necessary.
Jesus Alone 