Me

“O Lord, correct me, but with judgment, not with anger” Jeremiah 10:24

Me – Jeremiah asks God for something most of us avoid.  We are all quite willing for God to correct others, but how many times have we begged God to correct us!   How many times have your children come to you and asked to be punished so that they can learn a needed lesson?  How many times do criminals show up at the jail asking to be incarcerated so they can learn the law?  Human beings have a natural desire to avoid punishment even when it is intended to bring improvement.

Here’s the important point.  Only a man who knows God will ask for God’s correction.  Only someone who has a deep relationship with the Lord of the universe will know that correction is always for the best.  Only someone who trusts God will voluntarily submit to correction.

Correction is an essential part of spiritual growth.  It cannot be avoided.  The only variable in correction is how much is necessary to accomplish the needed result.  That variable is up to us.  God will continue to apply increasing amounts of correction until we return to Him.  We can respond quickly and experience only a tiny misstep, or we can try to avoid correction, deny our mistakes, pretend it doesn’t matter, and God will turn up the heat.

Jeremiah recognizes that the best kind of correction is the one that I ask for.  That request demonstrates an open heart to God, a willingness to feel God’s thumb on my life so that I may align my behavior with His wishes.  No man asks for this accidentally.  There is purpose here.  That purpose is the desire to be the person God wants at any cost.

Are you asking God for correction?  Do you have the kind of relationship with Him that trusts Him so much you want Him to chasten you?  Do you truly believe what He does will be for your best and you want the best no matter what it costs?