Whatever It Takes
11. 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.
God has a way of making things uncomfortable when we begin to go in a wrong direction. The farther we stray away from him, the more uncomfortable He will make things. God wants us to come toward him. He wants us to follow his guidelines because they are good for us.
Ezekiel chapter 5 tells of a time that God got so fed up with his "children" in Jerusalem going in the wrong direction that he told Ezekiel, Verse 8 "Tell them this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself am against you, Jerusalem, and I will inflict punishment on you in the sight of the nations. Because of all your detestable idols, I will do to you what I have never done before and will never do again." NIV
It makes God angry when men run to other sources instead of running to him. In this instance God’s discipline was severe. He told Jerusalem, "I myself will withdraw my favor; I will not look on you with pity or spare you. A third of your people will die of the plague or perish by famine inside you; a third will fall by the sword outside your walls; and a third I will scatter to the winds and pursue with drawn sword. Then my anger will cease and my wrath against them will subside and I will be avenged."
Why does it take hard circumstances to drive us to a loving God who wants to lead us to good places? It is no wonder that our straying makes God angry. The sources that we run to, the idols in our lives have no power. They are empty and worthless.
When God enacts discipline toward us it is a very real indication that he loves us very much. There is no better place to be than in the center of God’s will. There you will find the peace that passes understanding, you will find joy in the midst of pain and you will find a strength that nothing else can give.
When God looks at what he has to offer you and he sees you run away from it, it only makes sense that he will act to woo you back gently or forcefully, whatever it takes.
I think we have come to view God as something of a pushover who will understand and excuse our meanderings. But, do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the spirit will reap eternal life. Gal6:7-8
How important do you think eternal life is to God? Important enough that he would dole out some discipline to bring his children into the spiritual place they need to be.
It is later in the book of Ezekiel that we find these words: I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak......I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing.
In the midst of discipline he does not leave us hopeless. He beckons us to himself. In all things he is beckoning us to himself.
Father, help us to be children that require only gentle nudging to bring us back to your leading.
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