Good morning! I want to start out by saying that I have the VERY BEST kid in the world! He is so kind, thoughtful, caring, sensitive, strong, and loving! But having said that…he is just like every other kid – not seeing the big picture, just seeing what he wants to see. It is our job as his parents to bring discipline to his life, not because its easy or we want to, but because it is best for him!
I remember when we first started disciplining Josh, we had NO CLUE what we were doing! We tried anything and everything to help him understand when he was making the wrong choice. It was terrible because even though we love him more than anything, we had to be a source of discomfort so that he would not do the same thing again. From moments when he was reaching up near the stove as a toddler, or now the times when he is being disobedient or disrespectful when he doesn’t like to hear the word, ‘No.’
There is a time that stands out to me where God used a moment of discipline to teach me and Josh at the same time. Josh was very disrespectful to Mer and began talking back to her. I took him down to the baseball field and I began to make him run around the field. The purpose was two-fold: to help him prep for little league, and to teach him a lesson.
The first time he ran around the field, it took him about three and a half minutes. When we came back, I told him to go again. He was closer to three minutes now knowing that he was being timed. When he came back the second time, we sat down and talked about how he acted and what he could have done better (I did this because I wanted to get him thinking and also to give him rest).
Josh was miserable, he hated running! I was literally crushed inside but was hoping he was learning a lesson. I told him he was going to keep going until he made it around in two and a half minutes.
As he is going around, I see him slowing up at times and I knew he could do it – I didn’t want to give him a task that was impossible for him to accomplish. He came back around the fourth time with a time of two minutes and forty seconds. He was so defeated and I saw it all over his face. I wasn’t yelling at him, but I was encouraging him saying, “You can do it buddy!”
So after another break, I told him I would go around with him and all I asked is that he kept trying his best! We were keeping a good pace and all of a sudden, he began to slow up. I grabbed him by the arm and kept moving him along; “WE can do it buddy! Let’s go! We’re almost there!”
We came back around and we made it! We did it together! I think that was one of the moments in Josh’s life that defined my love for him! I wasn’t expecting him to do something I wasn’t willing to do; and even though I was not happy with how he had previously acted in disrespect, it did not change my love for him!
Every time he was going around that field, I was asking God to continue to guide me in disciplining my son. I did not want to break him, I did not want him to hate himself; all I wanted was for him to learn a lesson and change his behavior.
But God did more than that – He taught me how to discipline with purpose – He taught me how He feels when I need discipline – He taught me that when I rely on Him, He will do things through me that I could never do on my own!
“My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.”
Proverbs 3:11-12
When you receive correction from God’s Word, what is your reaction? Remember, God LOVES you so much and disciplines out of love! Even from the very beginning when Adam and Eve brought sin into the world, God had already planned a way to restore the broken relationship – the perfect sacrifice of Jesus! God knew that we could never do it on our own and provided THE WAY!
Heavenly Father, thank You for the lessons You teach us in our everyday lives that reveal more of who You are! We often have a tainted view of discipline because of people that have hurt us. Help us to understand that discipline is good and helps to keep us from making the same dangerous choices over and over! Help us to learn from Your correction and see how much You love us! In Jesus Name – AMEN!
Be Transformed 