IronGuys Law Enforcement Ministries
"WORDS OF WISDOM"
By Police Chaplains
“Godly Discipline is Needed”
By
Doni Daudel
Chaplain, Beaumont (CA) Police Department
11 My child, don’t reject the LORD’s discipline, and don’t be upset when He corrects you. 12 For the LORD corrects those He loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights. Proverbs 3:11-12(NLT)
I was never a fan of discipline as a child. I got my tail feathers fluffed often because of my poor choices. Yet I grew to understand it was because my parents, specifically my dad, loved me enough to correct my foolish choices and behavior. God, our Heavenly Father, loves us enough to do the same. Gods discipline comes as a result of “our poor spiritual choices.” We choose the world and the flesh over the Spirit and obedience to Christ. Through Gods discipline, He lovingly pushes or pulls us in the direction we’re to go to protect us and bring glory to Himself. His discipline, though it may seem harsh sometimes, is always because of love and it is never meant to destroy us; it’s meant to grow us.
Some struggle with the idea of a “Heavenly Father” and discipline because they never had an earthly Father or their earthly father was never there for them. That is not God. The writer of Hebrews reminds us of this great promise from God: “For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’…Heb 13:5” God will never abandon us because He loves us. Christ and the Cross remove any question of whether or not we are loved. The perfect, flawless, holy and unconditional love of God is seen in Gods willingness to discipline us. His discipline draws us to or back to Him, it protects and provides for our safety and allows us to see and hear Him as we walk with Him daily.
Time for truth. Is discipline, correction and rebuke enjoyable? Absolutely not! In fact, it can feel unbearable at times, yet it is absolutely needed for us to grow into mature believers who glorify and honor God, and bless others. Keep this thought in mind. The only reason God has to discipline and correct us is because we have become disobedient and rebellious little stinkers! We stick our hand out and tell God, “talk to the hand cuz the head ain’t listenin..!” My friends, that’s the “fast-track” to a “spiritual butt-whoopin!” Make the commitment right now to strive to be a good and faithful servant, and child God. When you do, you will experience more blessings and less trips to the “Heavenly Fathers Wood Shed”.