Psalm 38
Our
actions have consequences and wrong actions for a follower of Christ will show
us past and present sins, and we need to ask for forgiveness from a Holy
God. As followers of Christ, we have something David did not
enjoy, and that is the Holy Spirit of God taking residence in our bodies.
That means He will lead us in righteous living, in seeking after the good and
not evil, but it is a matter of our will, and it requires a disciplined life to
walk in the Spirit and not follow the desires of the flesh.
David
was no different than us, in that as King he had wealth and power and most of
the time he did good and not harm, but when he messed up, he brought on himself
the discipline of God. Verse 1-8 states, the following; “O Lord, rebuke me not in
your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath! For
your arrows have sunk into me, and your hand has come down on me. There is
no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no
health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities
have gone over my head like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. My
wounds stink and fester because of my foolishness; I am utterly bowed down
and prostrate; all the day I go about mourning. For
my sides are filled with burning, and there is no soundness in my
flesh. I am feeble and crushed; I groan because of
the tumult of my heart.”
What
should you and I take away from this? Sin
brings about discipline from a Holy God, but unlike David, we have the Cross
and it is clear, God took His full anger and wrath out on His Son. God is
just and loving He would not take it out on us for Christ took all our
punishment. But as we look at discipline, it’s never enjoyable, not for a
parent, nor the child, but it is necessary to raise a godly child.
Shall
we look at Hebrews 12:7-11, and it is my observation that I live in a
nation that has abandoned the teaching of discipline, parents no longer as a
whole discipline for in doing so they might warp the child’s
self-esteem. And as a nation, we are reaping what we sowed,
children that have never known how to live under discipline in any area of
life, feel they need a government that will give them everything. Without
training, we have crippled a generation of young people in all areas of life,
work is a bad word and capitalism is greed.
Who is teaching this? People who
have never known anything but the fruits of capitalism and live in a nation
where everyone can have success.
I
will end this with these words from Hebrews 12:7-11, “It is for discipline that you
have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there
whom his father does not discipline? If you are
left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are
illegitimate children and not sons. Besides
this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them.
Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and
live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time
as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we
may share his holiness. For the moment, all
discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the
peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”
Note:
Parents should never discipline a child when they are angry, but model the
Father’s example and make sure the discipline brings about true repentance.
From
the Back Porch,
Bob
Rice
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