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January 12, 2019
Good morning Lovelies. I pray that the words of encouragement are blessing those that read them. I humbly appreciate that you take the time out of your day to read them. I don’t take it for granted. Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, anger, bitterness, hate, feeling sorry for yourself. I could go on but you get the picture. Wake up every morning with the thought that something wonderful is about to happen. Some days you just have to create your own sunshine. But always wake with a grateful heart and attitude.
Now I know my title is probably making some think “Is she forreal?” But stay with me there is a reason for the title that I have given this post. I don’t know about you, but when I was growing up I got whippings! The belt, an extension cord, a broom, you name it, it corrected me. And when my sons were younger I saw the need for whippings from time to time. But, as parents you know that you can give them a look and they knew you were not playing with them.
Most of the time punishment is meant for correcting something done that was wrong. But there are times when punishment serves an even greater purpose. The pain of punishment, being grounded, getting whippings, etc. really hurt while they are happening. God’s chastening feels terrible while we are going through it as well. The pain of consequences for our stupid mistakes, our hard heads, and our sins hurts even more. But through it all, there is usually a lesson to learn or one that was learned.
We must learn a lesson in order for whatever we were disciplined will not happen again. The whole point of chastening from God is the same as when we disciplined our children. We want them to shape up, do right, make better decisions, and not fall short of their potential. That’s love and it really shows that you are concerned about your children’s well-being. This is the same type of love that God has for us His children. The greater purpose of the punishment is to make the good times even better! You see, the reward for doing good or doing the right thing is joy from not getting punished for doing the wrong thing. Let me put it this way. If you didn’t experience the pain of punishment or chastening, then you wouldn’t be as excited to celebrate the victory over the thing that you defeated! If it was something that once caused you pain because it got you in trouble, then when you beat it or defect it, it will bring even more joy because of the memory of the previous pain.
This is cause for thankfulness to God. That is what mercy is all about. There would be no mercy there was not chastening, There has to be punishment for mercy to be understood. You have to experience the pain of punishment, chastening or consequences to understand the power of mercy. The Word says that God’s mercy endureth forever. Meaning the He never runs out of mercy for us. Sometimes He allows us to go through and we have to accept the punishment. But, other times He gives mercy. We must give thanks for those times and learn from the lessons that He is teaching us in our walk with Him during these times.
Don’t keep doing the same things over and over and then expect mercy when the consequences come. Grow from your chastening, whether they be of God or just consequences of bad decisions. Once you grow past it, give thanks to God. You could have died from some of the mistakes you made, but His mercy endured. You could be lost right now behind that bad relationship that you choose, but His mercy endured! You could be on the streets and have nothing to eat behind some of the decisions you made, but His mercy endured. Give thanks to Him right now for the punishments, for the chastening, for the consequences that came but went away. Because the punishment, the chastening and the consequences are not gonna endure forever, but His mercy will!
“O give thanks to the Lord of lords, for His mercy endures forever.” Psalm 136:3
Live life, give people hope and share your heart, wisdom, and resources. Never place a period where God says there should be a comma.
As always peace and blessings, be safe. Take advantage of your opportunities but never allow your opportunities to take advantage of you. Remember God loves you and so do I. ©krw 1.12.19
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