Chastisement
It’s been raining a lot lately and I have no complaints what so ever. At the close of spring, I tend to get a bit dismayed because in CA, any chance or hope of the slightest bit of rain comes to an end. So here in TN with it being the middle of summer, I can’t describe the joy I experience with 85-89 degree temps accompanied by thunder and lightening down pours. (Insert happy dance here). The other evening I took the opportunity to practice with my camera trying to capture the lightning. I didn’t do so well after about 50 shots; however I did capture a bit of something as you can see in the pictures above. I believe it’s as beautiful as it can be terrifying; but you know what else is beautiful and terrifying? Being chastised by YAHWEH.
When I was growing up my parents were pretty strict. I once heard some girls in school discussing their curfew borderline complaining that their parents set it at 12am. 12am? I had no clue why a 15 year old would need to be out so late on a school night. My parents would have had a fit with me traipsing into the house at midnight. As I continued to ear hustle, my mind presented me with a rhetorical question: why would their parents allow this? Fast forward to today and even though I lost my parents back in 2003 and 2004, I still have a strict parent. Where I may not have appreciated it as much when I was 15, today I’m grateful that I have my Father in heaven YAHWEH. He loves me so much that He never allows me to stray too far away from Him, and chastises me if I do.
David says in Psalm 119:71: It was good for me that I have been humbled, that I might learn thy statutes. In Strong’s H6031 another word for humbled is afflicted. He certainly afflicted me at a particular time in my life, but at the time I had no clue what was going on. I lost everything; parents, job, house, and car. I had absolutely no control over anything in my life and every decision made to recover failed. It was like being in a moving car, behind the wheel, with my arms tied up. People would say, “Don’t give up” and I would think to myself, “give up? I don’t have anything to give up.” However I finally realized that I did need to give up something; I needed to give up my control of trying to fix everything and just let it all crash. Once I did that, YAHWEH began to move in my life. I saw Him meticulously put everything back together; but in a way that pleased Him.
I hadn’t completely woke up during that time, yet He started changing my desires, my activities, and cleaned out the attic of my life. There was much pain, but in the pain there was much comfort. He was always there for me as I remember back to the age of 5; in that little red school house at the LA County Fair, when I told Him that I accepted Him into my life. Over the years I had forgotten that I said this, but He never did. While I have done much damage to my life living in the world, He never let me go too far. There were times I would find out certain shady kick backs, short cuts and financial schemes that people were engaging in on the regular with impunity. However let me get into it, I would get caught and suffer severe consequences. So although He put my life back together, I was still sleep; cleaned up on the outside, but He was still working on my insides.
During this time I used to have anxiety so severe that it caused debilitating insomnia. Once I woke up to the truth and started reading scriptures for myself, I came across this verse Leviticus 26:17 And I will pour out my anger against you, and you shall be defeated before your enemies; they that hate you shall reign over you; and you shall flee when none pursue you. This is exactly what my life was like, I was so full of anger, pride and entitlement; never repenting (I didn’t know people still used that word) YAHWEH caused every moment to be filled with fear. If I was doing a good job at work, I was still in constant fear of getting fired. I could have no personal problems with people or family and everything was going well, but I still feared that everyone hated me and my world would be pulled from under me at anytime. I couldn’t sleep due to my mind racing with ridiculous thoughts and fake arguments. I used to have to sleep with the TV on to drown it all out.
However there is a happy ending. The straighter my walk got, the less noise I would hear. It says in Job 5:17 Behold, happy is the man whom Elohim corrects; and he who does not despise the chastening of the Almighty. Today I sleep like a baby every night and when I don’t, I pay attention to conflict and difficulties in my life to discern if it is YAHWEH chastising me. While it’s never comfortable; it does draw me closer to Him and reminds me that I definitely am His child. Romans 1:28 And as they did not consent in themselves to know Elohim, Elohim has given them over to a weak mind, to do the things which should not be done. Our Father will do this, give us over. If His chastisement of stress, failures and hitting the bottom does not work, He will let us go. No one should ever want that to happen, because if we don’t belong to YAHWEH, then we are sitting ducks for the enemy.
Shalom!
Just a few supporting scriptures:
And I will pour out my anger against you, and you shall be defeated before your enemies; they that hate you shall reign over you; and you shall flee when none pursue you.
-Leviticus 26:17
Behold, happy is the man whom Elohim corrects; and he who does not despise the chastening of the Almighty.
-Job 5:17
And as they did not consent in themselves to know Elohim, Elohim has given them over to a weak mind, to do the things which should not be done.
-Romans 1:28
Blessed is the man whom thou dost chasten, O YAHWEH, and teachest out of thy law.
-Psalm 94:12
YAHWEH has chastened me severely; but he has not given me over to death
-Psalms 118:18
Even before I was humbled, I believed; and I kept thy word. 68: Thou art good, O YAHWEH, and doest good; teach me thy statutes. 69: The injustice of the proud has multiplied; but I keep thy commandments with my whole heart. 70: Their hearts are stubborn; but I keep thy law. 71: It is good for me that I have been humbled, that I might learn thy statutes. 72: The law of they mouth is better to me than thousands of things of gold and silver.
-Psalms 119:67-72
My son, despise not the chastening of YAHWEH, neither be weary of his corrections. 12: For whom YAHWEH loves He corrects, even as a father corrects his son.
-Proverbs 3:11-12
I rebuke and chastise all those whom I love; be zealous, therefore, and repent.
-Revelation 3:19