Devotional: A Father's Delight

June 17, 2012

Proverbs 3:11-12

My child, don’t reject the LORD’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you.  For the LORD corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.

Life comes with prosperity and adversity.  We honor the Lord in prosperity (Proverbs 3:9-10).  We rejoice when the bank account has enough in it, when we have all the food we need, when the house doesn't have some major problem that needs fixed, and when our health is good.  We praise God for those gifts.  How do we treat God when we face adversity?  What will we do when we aren't sure how the bills will be paid, where the next meal will come from, when the house needs major repairs, and when our health isn't what we want or need it to be?  Often this becomes a time of questioning.  We wonder if God really is as good as everyone claims Him to be.  We sometimes view God as the punisher who has brought this trouble to us for some reason we aren't even sure of.  I wonder, is this true?

How many of us have been disciplined?  How many of us have had to discipline a child (our own or others)?  Why do we do this?  Is it out of anger or some other emotion that wants to “get” that child for what they have done?  Probably not.  Is it simple obligation to a set of rules that lead us to think a child must act a certain way just because (seen and not heard)?  Probably not.  Discipline in its truest form comes from love.  It comes from a desire to see a child grow up healthy, wise, and safe.  Discipline is an act of protection.  Discipline is an act of love.

God is not in the business of creating adversity and suffering among His people.  Most often the adversity we face is birthed out of a sinful (separate from God) attitude or action.  No father forces a child to do something harmful and/or dangerous just to teach them a lesson, but a good father will use the wrongdoing of a child to instruct them on what is the right way.  This is discipline.  The wisdom of Proverbs says that the Father (God) delights in us (His children).  Because of this, He disciplines and corrects.  He uses our wrongdoing to show us the right path.  Instead of turning away from Him when adversity strikes, maybe we should turn towards Him and discover the embrace of love our Father offers us.