Loving Correction

I was reading Proverbs 3:13-18 recently about the benefits and value of having wisdom.   Read this, and think about what those benefits are:

Proverbs 3:13-18:

¹³ Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.

¹⁴ For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.

¹⁵ She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.

¹⁶ Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.

¹⁷ Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.

¹⁸ She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.

I went back to read it again the next day, and I noticed a couple verses I had underlined in my Bible just above this passage.  In vs. 11-12 it says:

11 My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction:

¹² For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

Then it goes on to talk about the value of wisdom.  I thought about how it hurts sometimes to be corrected.  My pride is damaged, and I feel embarrassed.  When we feel like that, we can easily come into bitterness and resentment, and harden our hearts toward the things of God.

OR...we can humble ourselves, and realize that just like with any loving parent, our heavenly Father seeks to correct us...why?  So we can have all those benefits of wisdom He tells us in vs. 13-18!  EVERYONE has to go through a time of learning before they can reap the benefits of wisdom, so you are not alone.  We are not to despise the chastening of the Lord, or be weary of His correction.  That means if we keep failing and the Lord has to keep getting our attention, don't fret!  Don't get exasperated!  Try to learn so the Lord doesn't have to keep correcting you over and over for the same thing.  Be humble, learn your lesson, and move on to greater challenges ahead, remembering that if you are being chastened by the Lord, it's proof of His love for you, and that He delights in you because if He didn't, He wouldn't bother with you.  He would let you go down those paths that will lead you to destruction and an unfulfilled life.  Isn't the Lord's love for us a beautiful thing, even if it hurts a little sometimes?  Be humble and bask in His love for you today.

Hebrews 12:6: “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.”