The Correction Comes from the Delight

Dear friend.

This is an unusual week for me.

This morning I’m preaching a farewell sermon at my corps. Next month, we move to a new posting. And as I prepared this week’s devotional, I didn’t plan the timing - but the verse I landed on for today is almost too fitting.

Proverbs 3:11-12 says this: “My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you. For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.”

Here’s what stops me every time I read it. Not a child he’s given up on. Not a child he’s disappointed in. A child in whom he delights.

That one word changes everything.

When life gets hard - when a door closes, a season shifts, or something you didn’t choose stretches you - it can feel like distance. Like God is somewhere else, or like you’ve done something wrong.

But Proverbs 3 says the pressure is actually a sign of the relationship.

And Hebrews 12 adds this: after the hard season, there will be a peaceful harvest. Something grows in us through difficulty that simply can’t grow any other way.

You don’t need to feel grateful for the hard thing yet. You just need to hold it gently - and trust the hands that are holding you.

Today’s 5-minute devotional unpacks this in full. I’d be glad to have you join me.

Watch the full devotional here:

With hope.

Rob

Read this week’s devotionals here - https://open.substack.com/pub/battledrilldevotional/p/when-clever-isnt-enough?r=643q6o&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true