Sep 12 – WHEN CORRECTED!

 “Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?” (Hebrews 12:9).

God is one to chasten you with love. He chastens you for your benefit and to make you partake in His holiness. No chastening seems to be joyful for the present. But one will understand later that it yields the fruit of righteousness.

No family is free of tribulations. There is no saint who has not crossed the path of suffering. The Scripture says that many are the afflictions to the righteous. Why does God guide you in the path of tribulations? Why does He allow enemies to rise against you?

The Scripture says ‘Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof; And they were to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken unto the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses’ (Judges 3:2, 4).

God allows the problems, firstly to train them in war and secondly, to test them. When you come across problems, look up to God and pray fervently. Plead for holiness. Jesus said, “Call to me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3).

One should not think that God will remove all your problems in a second and ensure that no problem gets nearer to you. Life is full of struggles. When one problem comes to an end, another does creep in. When a wave in the sea strikes the shore, naturally another one follows it. Only to train you to swim, God is sending the waves one after the other.

Only to train your hands in the war, God allows such things. The Scripture says, “Blessed be the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle” (Psalms 144:1). The word ‘hands’ indicates the work one is doing and the word ‘fingers’ indicate the minute works they carry out.

Dear children of God, you can inherit victory only if you get trained to face the rising waves. One can shine for God only when he is tested.

To meditate: “….he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still. And behold, I am coming quickly” (Revelations 22:11, 12).