The joy of corrective suffering

UV 399/10,000 The joy of correction Job 5 v 17 Job 5:17 Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: We should deem ourselves blessed when He checks our detours away from Him and His Word and puts us back on track. He has a right and a duty to so correct us even as a loving father corrects his child. Cain despised the chastening of the Lord as He pointed out that his motives and his actions were not right. Cain was not sensitive enough to realize this. Instead, he hardened his heart and went on to destroy himself. Our attitude towards the Lord’s correction should be that of a traveler who once lost in the desert rejoices on finding the path that leads to the oasis. Instead of despising or hating such correction even though it might be painful for a time, we must be thankful and welcome it. Till we see the solution or the breakthrough or the end of our trial, we must exhibit the attitude of Job in all his suffering- one of patient endurance and hope. The Lord assures us that once the lessons of that experience are learnt, He will bind our wounds and heal our pains. He will more than just restore us. Job was given twice of whatever he had or owned before his trial. We too can save the Lord a lot of trouble in finding ways to correct us by yielding to His spirit and accepting correction straightaway by studying the Word and obeying the instructions of the Lord in our daily lives. How do we recognize that the Lord’s hand is involved in an experience? If we emerge stronger and better from a painful experience and not sadder and bitter, it is a sign that the Lord has allowed us to go through that test for a purpose. Joseph never pitied himself or hated God for allowing him to go into captivity, the bondage of slavery and prison. He knew that the Lord had allowed it to fulfill the dream that he had given him while he was yet a child. Hence, even as we go through a painful chastisement, a visitation from the Lord, we must hold on to our hope, our dream and our trust that out of it all a greater good will come. Such a faith will come when we understand the true love of God. My own ordeal both by water and by fire purified my faith and removed a lot of the dross and the gloss. Prateep V Philip