In Job 5:17 I read, “Happy is the person whom God corrects! Do not resent it when he rebukes you." (GNT)
If I’m running from what God has called me to do, there is something I should know: God is calling me back to him.
He knows that the longer I run, the worse life will get. And he wants to get my attention before it’s too late.
Even though God is patient, he won’t let me ignore his call forever. God loves me just the way I am, but he loves me far too much to let me stay that way.
One day he’s going to get my attention.
The prophet Jonah found this out the hard way as he was running from God: “The storm was getting worse all the time” (Jonah 1:11 GNT). The more Jonah ran, the worse the storm got. Jonah’s running had consequences.
It’s the same way for me. When I run from God, eventually I’ll find myself surrounded by storms.
Sometimes those are the storms of God’s correction. But when God corrects me, it’s not negative. It’s because he loves me!
Loving parents discipline their children because they love them and want to see them change their behavior for their own good. God is the same way. The Bible says: “Happy is the person whom God corrects! Do not resent it when he rebukes you” (Job 5:17 GNT).
As the storm got more intense, Jonah’s shipmates asked a question many people ask when troubles build: “What should we do . . . to stop the storm?” (Jonah 1:11 GNT)
The answer is always the same. I must completely surrender my life to God. When I surrender, peace comes.
Jonah did this. He responded, “Throw me into the sea, and it will calm down. I know it is my fault that you are caught in this violent storm” (Jonah 1:12 GNT).
It was Jonah’s first unselfish act, and his first step toward a fresh start. He admitted he was the cause of the storm, and he surrendered to God’s will.
If I’ve been running from God’s plan for my life and now I’m facing a storm, surrender to God. I can do this with confidence because God is for me, and he’s calling me back to him.
In summary, “happy” is the person whom God corrects! So do not resent it when he rebukes me. If I’m running from what God has called me to do, God is calling me back to him. The longer I run, the worse life will get. And he wants to get my attention before it’s too late. Even though God is patient, he won’t let me ignore his call forever. God loves me just the way I am, but he loves me far too much to let me stay that way. One day he’s going to get my attention. When I run from God, eventually I’ll find myself surrounded by storms. Sometimes those are the storms of God’s correction. But when God corrects me, it’s not negative. It’s because he loves me! Loving parents discipline their children because they love them and want to see them change their behavior for their own good. God is the same way. I must completely surrender my life to God. When I surrender, peace comes. If I’ve been running from God’s plan for my life and now I’m facing a storm, surrender to God. I can do this with confidence because God is for me, and he’s calling me back to him.
It is a blessing to be disciplined by God when I do wrong. These words show a discipline that has been almost forgotten. Pain can help me grow. These are good words to remember when I face hardship or loss. In Job's case, because he did not understand why he suffered, his faith in God had a chance to grow. God does not eliminate all hardship when I follow him closely, and good behavior is not always rewarded by prosperity. Rewards for good and punishment for evil are in God's hands and given out according to his timetable. Satan's plot is to get me to doubt God's love and faithfulness toward me.
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