My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees. Your instructions are more valuable to me than millions in gold and silver. Psalm 119:71-72
Let’s
face it, there ARE times when God the Father takes his
children to the woodshed! We tend to
think of “Father” in terms of our protector, provider, and closest friend;
rightly so. But there is more to
parenting than planning birthday parties, outings to the state fair, and
putting bread on the table. If
discipline is never on that table you wind up with an undisciplined, immature,
unmannered, and unprincipled child in adult skin. Repeat that enough and you have a culture
that respects nothing, demands everything, and sits in a pool of tears because
they don’t get what they wanted.
Uhhhh…you
have 2020.
I
received discipline as a child. It wasn’t
so much physical discipline (although there was that at
times), but Mom and Dad’s kind of discipline warned me about the consequences
that went along with my choices. And when
the choices I made fell in the unwise, or downright rebellious column, the
consequences were no surprise. It was as
the name for this devotional blog suggests, a Rocky Road out
there, and, so, Russell, here are the good ways to avoid those rocky
places. And when you can’t help but go
through them, here’s how to ask for the right kind of help to navigate life’s
tougher pathways.
No
discipline, physical, mental, financial, or even the imprisonment of time-out
is welcomed at the time. But often we
can look back and see the value the discipline has had in
helping form our future choices, helping us stay on-track.
One
such time for me was a watershed of life’s choices that placed me on the right
track with God. As a young man, I was busy
with young children to raise, a wife that loved me, and a good job. Add the chores of taking care of a house, two
cars and assorted schedule management, and my life was full. It was full of busy days, doing things,
making money, going here and there…and totally empty of purpose.
Our
lives had taken an upswing in direction, being newly-welcomed into a loving
church where Scripture was held in high regard, modeled by leaders who
understood what the Apostle James meant about living the Word,
not just hearing it*. But there was still
some piece of this puzzle of how to do something with my life that would match
a growing hunger to please God.
Looking
back on that time (aided with the benefit of 40+ years of hindsight), I can see
it was God, the Holy Spirit, Who was reminding me of God’s call to preach. It was a calling I’d received (and tried my
best to ignore) so long ago as a boy.
But at the time it just seemed like a gnawing emptiness in the pit of my
stomach; it was a sense that if I didn’t do something about serving God I would
somehow dry up on the inside and melt into the landscape like dried leaves blow
away from the life-giving tree each fall.
It wasn’t as much selfishness, or rebellion towards my Creator, as it
may have been a lack of understanding, or confidence, the kind of faith in God
to take that first step as when God wanted Abraham to go to the mountain. I was being tested, and, in fear I had been running
from God. I was off-track, and it was
painful to feel so alienated from God’s loving presence.
That
alienation is what we would commonly call the woodshed,
God’s way of getting our attention so He can steer us back on-track to a life planned
for us that is less about Him being Sovereign, and much more about Him wanting
the best for His children…even us stubborn ones.
For
me, hopping back on the right track took nearly 20 years from the time of my
calling, until the day I finally put my pride and insecurity aside and, in a
broken, halting prayer of that day, told God I was His. I would do whatever He wanted, wherever He
wanted, and with whatever He placed in my hands…I would follow Him; I was HIS!
There
have been bumps along the way (it’s still a Rocky Road, remember), but the growing
sense of peace in my soul has met each stone or boulder with just the right
amount of faith for each day. That’s
what the right track feels like when you let God steer the
engine!
So, is it just
suffering? Or is it suffering that is
good for you? Is God showing you where
you jumped the track? It’s not too late
to get back on if you’re still breathing.
Title image Pixabay.com W Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©
For other posts on the way God disciplines his children see: Meet You At the Woodshed and Correction
*James 1:22
