I’m sorry, this isn’t going to be a very Christmas-y post, but it’s been on my heart a lot recently and so this is what I’m writing about today... God showing His love through discipline.
One very important lesson I’ve had to keep coming back to is that God only disciplines those He loves. Yes, in the Bible He also punishes His enemies and avenges His servants, but that’s not the same thing. Being disciplined is how we are refined into His image - it’s intentional and always productive (though rarely comfortable). And it’s also important to note that it’s a process He only puts His children through. The Bible is filled with stories of God sending countless warnings to the Israelites and them rarely heeding those warnings. And every time they had finally gone too far from His presence and had seemed to reject His ways completely, He withdrew His hand of protection over them so they could feel the true weight of their sin and return to Him. Israel’s disobedience was no different than the sins of the other nations around them, except for the fact that they knew better. The direct repercussions of their sin was only as heavy as it was because He expected more from them than the other nations. And why was Israel blessed with such high standards? It was their inheritance. From the very beginning, they had entered into covenants with God and received His promises and His precepts with open and willing hearts. They knowingly accepted relationship with God along with all of the perks and exceptions that came with it, creating an eternal bond between them that no amount of future disobedience or defiance could break. He had promised to do what was best for them, and He is ALWAYS faithful to His promises - even to the point of letting them be hurt so that they might return to Him when they needed to. All of the destruction He brought them through was only ever out of love for them and out of a desire to bring them back to a place of life over death. In my own life I have eagerly entered into relationship with Elohim, and therefore have come under his hand of covering for both protection from death as well as from my own folly. Like Israel, He loves me far too much to let me slip away from His plans and His goodness - at least, not without a serious fight! Even when I’m at my worst and I wince at the pain, I can know that every good thing comes from my Heavenly Father. He will not let me go through any attack alone, and He will not discipline me beyond what I can handle when I stand in His love. He is my rock and my shelter, and the provider of all my needs. What kind of God would He be if He also let me walk away from that love without trying to stop me? One of the stories I keep coming back to this year is the life of Jonah. Jonah was a prophet of the Lord - someone who had dedicated his life to God and who walked with Him intimately enough to know His voice well. Everyone knows Jonah by the discipline he received, but I think we rarely look at it through the lens of God’s mercy and love towards Jonah. Without a shadow of a doubt, Jonah messed up and deserved whatever punishment God would have decided to give him, but the worst punishment (what he truly deserved) would have been to let him go on his own way and depart from God’s presence entirely. Anything less was already an act of mercy. Even though Jonah was being stubborn and rebellious, God loved him too much to let him go off on a temper tantrum. So instead of letting Jonah sail to Tarshish and live out the rest of his days ignoring God, He orchestrated the wind and seas just so that Jonah would be forced to face his own sin and its consequences here in this life. He sent a fish to protect Jonah from death, and He kept him there until Jonah repented. Jonah still wasn’t perfect and he still had a bad attitude, but he also got to partner with God in bringing mercy to people living in darkness. God didn’t need a man’s help in order to accomplish His heavenly agenda, but He still wanted His friend to be a part of what He was doing. People tend to get scared or intimidated by the “Old Testament” because they don’t understand that it’s all a story about a Father and His children - a family matter from beginning to end. If you are not in His family, then neither His blessings nor His laws will apply to you - only the absence of them. But if you have truly become His child, then it has also become your family story and of the utmost applicability. Please don’t let a misunderstanding of God’s heart to protect His disobedient children drive you away from His heart of love towards you. ❤️ And likewise don’t get discouraged when walking with God isn’t always fun and easy. Sometimes we need to be given the opportunity to grow through trials in order to better understand the hope that we’re called to live in. If you ever want to talk with me about this more, please leave me a message in the comments. Merry Christmas!!
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March 2023
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