“You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you.”
Deuteronomy 8:5 NKJV
When we are chastened by God, it is so He can:
• Bring us into a good land where we will dwell in plenty and peace, lacking nothing.
• Raise us to His standard and purify us for koinonia (fellowship) with Him and for His assignment.
• Break us before strengthening us. This is an act of reducing us to nothing to empty us of every character flaw and refining us to make us better vessels for His use.
• Strip away pride and self-reliance. Pride can manifest in many ways: thinking more highly of oneself than others, or taking pride in beauty, intelligence, or a refusal to apologize when wrong.
• Build our spiritual awareness and sensitivity to the leadings and promptings of the Holy Spirit. This sharpens our discernment, which is a major criterion for walking in our assignment.
• Develop our compassion and empathy for others, which are also vital traits needed for our assignment. It is often through our own experiences that we are best equipped to minister to others.
• Elevate our love for Him to the highest priority, ensuring we do not love anyone or anything above Him.
• Rid us of unforgiveness, greed, anxiety, fear, malice, offense etc. making us worthy vessels for His use.
• Prepare us for the great task ahead like David, Joseph, Esther, Ruth or Moses who all endured seasons of breaking and preparation before walking in their callings.
During this “refining” process, we are meant to endure the correction and continue keeping His commandments. The final results—His promises of blessing, promotion, acceleration, and deliverance—can only be achieved through this transformative process, which ultimately tests our authenticity. It is after we have been humbled, worked on and raised to God’s standard that He deploys us for our assignment.
We must therefore always remember God and bear in mind that every foundation will be tested through fire (1 Corinthians 3:12–15) and If the very fire we are tested with consumes us, it shows we are not yet ready. Which ultimately may bring about a great loss leaving us deeply wounded and damaged.
Prayer:
Lord, we humble ourselves to your pruning and chastening. Purify us today and rid us of anything that’ll stand in our way, so that we will not experience any form of destruction. Instead make us vessels of excellence unto you in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Shalom 🕊️
Bimpe Lawal