Whom God loves, He disciplines
The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him...Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 2 Samuel 12:1-4, 7
From the text, Nathan told a parable to David that caused him to be furious of the man’s action in the parable. The man took something precious from another man. Then Nathan said that the man in the parable was David. The parable mirrored the actions that David took. As king of Israel, he took advantage of the weakness of others and disregarded the word of God. Nathan’s rebuke of David’s sinful acts caused him to experience guilt. He felt haunted by his sinfulness that he was very much troubled that he cannot sleep and find rest. “For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night” (Psalm 51:3). He realized the separation that existed between him and the God he worships and serves. “Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you” (Psalm 51:12). All these soul-searching took place when he opened himself to God’s rebuke through Nathan. Once a child of God starts to violate His will, God will not remove the consequence of sinful act. What God will do is to let you realize your sinfulness and just like David, you will return to God’s love and ask Him to restore you once again. “Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence” (Psalm 51:10-11). But you have to let God convict you and have the openness to listen to the rebuke. There will be times that God will use other believers to confront you from your disobedient acts. A child of God will be open to rebuke and the acts of discipline God will take. Unless you are willing to accept what God is doing to correct your rebellious act, you will be at the losing end. “As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all” (Hebrews 12:7-8). God disciplines His children because He will not allow you to stay in your sinfulness as if you did not come to know Him as your Lord and Savior. You can only benefit from your relationship with God when you let Him change you to be the person He wants you to be. “God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way” (Hebrews 12:10-11).
Blessings,
