Do you know the value of Receiving correction?
Psalm 94:12-13a (ESV)
12 Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord, and whom you teach out of your law, 13 to give him rest from days of trouble...
Oh my goodness, I bet this devotion will go over like a lead balloon.
None of us like to receive correction. We are wired to present ourselves as "know-it-alls", and as soon as someone comes along with facts many will still die on the hill of being wrong.
But when we look at verse 12 of our Psalm for today we see that God blesses the man who receives His discipline. God holds the humble person in high regard. To be "teachable" and to have a mindset that is open and willing to receive correction is noble in the eyes of the Lord.
Discipline from the Lord is not meant to harm you or punish you. In fact, if you look at verse 13 you will see that following God's ways and learning from His Word will give you rest from days of trouble.
Back when I was a youth pastor I would get questions from teenagers that centered around how close could they get to sin without it actually being sin. Some of the teens viewed the Bible as a book of rules and regulations that God used to keep them from having fun. Come to think of it, don't some adults think the same thing?
But how many sleepless nights have been had by those who are trapped in sin? How many poor decisions and actions came as a result of sin, and entire lives and families were upended? In Psalm 94:13 we are told that rest is lost and times of trouble arrive when we neglect the Word of the Lord. It sounds to me like God's Word is meant to keep us away from the very things that will destroy us. And when we start to get close to the things that will destroy us...God corrects us.
So what do we do with this?
There are a few different reactions you can have when truth and correction stare you in the face.
You can deny it and make every excuse under the sun.
You can get mad at the messenger.
You can go in a corner and pout.
Or...
You can receive the Lord's discipline and correction and use it as a valuable learning experience for the future. When you have your heart set on the ways of God you will not get defensive when the Lord corrects you. Once you truly understand that "perfection" on this side of heaven is not attainable for you, you will stop projecting and protecting your perfect image.
Don't you want to learn? Don't you want to grow? Don't you want to be more like Christ every day? If so, that looks like a two steps forward, one step back journey...and when you take a step back and are called to an account by the Lord (whether through a trusted friend, mentor, pastor, or straight from God's Word) don't get all bent out of shape from it...learn from it. Grow from it.
You're not perfect. And to act like you are perfect is another form of sin.
The Apostle Paul gives us some good wisdom from Philippians 3:12-14 when he wrote about his walk with Jesus.
Philippians 3:12-14 (ESV)
12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Did you notice the "I'm working toward the goal but I'm not there yet" language? Paul is telling us to press on toward the goal in the same way that he is. I used to get offended when people told me I wasn't ready for something, or prepared, or experienced enough...but after a few years I realized something, they were right!
And God was giving me a gift by having people correct me and encourage me to press on, get disciplined, dig into God's Word, learn more, experience more, and prepare myself for a better future. In the meanwhile, God was growing my spiritual maturity.
You see, rejecting God's correction is a sign of spiritual immaturity. If you get offended whenever you are challenged, and you let your emotions get in the way of your learning from it, well, you may be missing out on some of the greatest blessings of your life.
How can I say that?
I'll just repost Psalm 94:12-13a to close this devotion. Read it again and dig deeper into its meaning. God may be using His discipline (correction) to bring about the greatest blessings of your life. Do you know the value of receiving correction? Psalm 94:12-13a (ESV)
12 Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord, and whom you teach out of your law, 13 to give him rest from days of trouble...
Josh Huisman is the senior pastor of Crosswalk Church in Brentwood, TN. If you would like to support this website and make it possible for this page to stay active and these devotions to reach a wider audience, CLICK HERE
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