My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline,
and do not resent his rebuke,
12
because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
as a father the son he delights in.
~Proverbs 3:11-12 ~
Lately in my walk with God I have been avoiding discipline almost like the plague, and when I haven't been running away from it completely, I have been hiding behind self-justification... and that is one of the worse things I think I can do because it allows my own pride to grow and keeps me in a mindset where I can not be humble and repentant before God.
As soon as I start thinking thoughts like 'God can't possibly care about this one little issue' That's when I know I'm not in a good place... and yet here I am ready and willing to admit it and still a part of me is trying to justify this... literally right now as I'm writing this I thought 'well I could be doing way worse' !!! It seems completely unbelievable, I'm actually appalled with myself!
I've been struggling with God a lot lately the last few months, I've been too caught up in self and distractions and situations/circumstances in my life. I definitely need prayer for victory over trying to justify myself before God, because I know that's impossible on my own, and I know it's going to be difficult. My pride is yelling at me right now. And that's ok, because I remembered these verses in Hebrews and wanted them to be the honest cry of my heart and to know they are true and to live them!
Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
~Hebrews 12: 9-11~
I'd like to take this time to encourage anyone else struggling through this- because honestly, if you're reading this and it sounds familiar - then you may have been trying to justify yourself before God (and probably others) then these words may sting and be convicting.
But is that not how the pharisee's would have felt as well?
And so for the sake of their image, power and pride they killed Jesus to have Him and the discipline and conviction that came from listening to Him (and following Him) out of their lives for good (or so they thought). They chose to cut themselves off from God ... And this is why being humble and repentant and loving the Lord's discipline is the choice one must make because out of it comes righteousness and true peace!
