Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth; therefore despise not the chastening of the Almighty. Job 5:17
Do you ever wonder why some Christians don’t seem to have any consequences when they are disobedient, rebellious, or just plain cold? Sometimes we see Christians like that and wonder when God is going to step in and cause them to feel the consequences of their waywardness. I think God has a couple of good reasons why he does not administer correction in such cases. The first reason is that the wayward Christian will never repent, so correction would be pointless. The second reason is that God wants that person to experience the sorrow of God’s departure. Our text tells us that the corrected Christian is the happy Christian.
When we were saved, God gave to us the capability of serving and obeying Him, as we could never do before. Our Salvation brought us into the joy of service and worship that God always intended for those created in His image. But we are still living in sinful flesh and are subject to the lusts and temptations that the enemy sends our way. There are many ways in which our lives are not all that they should be. And that applies to the best of us as well as to the most lax. The best and happiest condition for us is to be in harmony with God’s Word and purposes. So His correction will make us to be happier Christians.
Eliphaz, in his words to Job, reminds him that God’s chastening is not something to despise. We need to remember that, too. Sometimes, God takes away from us something that we cherish. Sometimes He gives us circumstances that we would never want. Rather than bewailing our condition or our loss, we should be looking for what blessing God can bring to us from the situation. It’s not always easy. It takes a heart that is soft and receptive to the Lord’s dealings. It takes a willingness to abandon bitterness, resentment, and blame. If we can do that in the face of correction that God sends to us, we will be happy.
If God’s chastening seems grievous, we are looking at it all wrong. He wants to bless us, and He can do so even when He corrects. -Jim MacIntosh