DISCIPLINE IS GOOD

 

Prov. 3:11-12  My child, don’t ignore it when the LORD disciplines you, and don’t be discouraged when he corrects you. For the LORD corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.

      We never get too old to be disciplined by the Lord. We never get to the point where we don’t need to come underneath God’s corrective hand. Why? Because as long as we are in the flesh, we will be influenced by the flesh. We are prone to slip up and fall. In our weakness, we often aren’t strong enough to resist the temptations that assail us. The Lord disciplines us because we need to understand that we can’t sin and get away with it. Sin is serious business with the Lord and He holds us responsible for it when we do sin.

        It is good for us to come underneath the Lord’s discipline. Why? Because it is a testimony of God’s love for us. If He didn’t care for us and love us, He wouldn’t bother to help us with our sin problem. He doesn’t have to discipline us, but because He loves us He does it. We need to thank the Lord when we come underneath His discipline.

      Don’t let pride keep you from submitting to the Lord’s discipline. Don’t get discouraged when He reveals to you your sin. Don’t get the idea that God is treating you harshly. He loves you and wants to spare you from a life lived in sin. Remember, sin always carries with it a price to pay. Sometimes the consequences are great and the Lord allows us to bear them in order to teach us not to do it again.

       Every time we sin, it’s a chink in the armor of our righteousness. Unless the Lord intervenes, the chink will grow bigger and make us more vulnerable to Satan’s attacks. The more chinks we live with, the more likely we are to sin and wander away from God. Only the Lord can fix the chinks. He can replace the chinks with His righteousness and make us whole again. He loves to do it, but He won’t do it as long as we harbor our sin and don’t submit to His discipline.

      Don’t let sin rob you of the joy of your salvation. Confess whatever sin plagues you. He will forgive you and cleanse you from all your unrighteousness. You may have to go through some difficulty in order to learn that you can’t sin and get away with it, but that is a good thing. It teaches us that the Lord loves us and that we need His constant presence and help so that we don’t let sin rule over us.