God did so much for Joseph. He saved his life when his brothers wanted to kill him. God showed him favor when he was sold into slavery. God abundantly blessed the work of his hands that his master placed him over his whole property. Joseph never forgot these blessings from the Lord. The realizations of God’s mercy filled Joseph’s heart with gratitude toward God and his master.
Someone might say, «I still do not have a job, even though I have prayed and the church has prayed for me». Or he might say, «Thank You, Lord, for the daily bread You give me». Do you see a difference? In the first case we hear murmuring, in the second – thanksgiving. Is it really necessary to thank God for the daily bread? Absolutely, since many people are forced to go hungry from day to day.
How many times did you call out to God this week? What about this month, this year? You called out to Him and He answered. Do not repeat the mistake of these 9 Israelites that were healed from leprosy but forgot to thank God for it! Give thanks to God for all things!
«Poverty and shame will come to him who disdains correction, but he who regards a rebuke will be honoured» (Proverbs, 13:18).
We can see once again that financial difficulties in the lives of these people were not sent by God; they were the result of them rejecting the teaching and instruction of the Lord.
1. God uses His Word, the Bible to discipline us.
Do you have some separate time to read and personally study God’s Word? Do you study the Word together with other believers? Do you listen regularly to the preaching of the Word? All these issues are very important, since it is the Holy Scripture that God uses to speak to us. Through the Word God corrects us and gives us important instruction concerning the way we should live. God sees and know how we live. God knows all of our hidden desires and thoughts, and He wants to correct us through His Word.
§ To provide for us assurance and safety. Through discipline God desires to give His children exhortation: «And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons…» (Hebrews, 12:5).
We can miss many important and useful opportunities in life if we underestimate what is going on in our lives. God’s discipline is one of these opportunities. Believers have a tendency to despise the discipline of their Heavenly Father. Yet in the Epistle to Hebrews The Lord is calling us to resist the wrong attitude of some believers towards God’s discipline. It says in the Bible: « My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him» (Hebrews, 12:5).
The believers that are focused on comfort usually are indifferent towards the truth of God disciplining them. Some of them aren’t even bothered by their sins or irresponsibility. People like that want to be blessed by God, yet they despise God’s discipline.
The Bible also tells us that punishment is profitable for us and not God.
«As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent» (Revelation, 3:19).
Repentance is the right reaction to discipline!
Sin never is just one’s personal business, so to speak. Sin is not something you do to yourself; sin is something that inevitably affects others.
My responsibility is to live a worthy life and to walk in obedience before the Lord. If I become disobedient, then according to the Bible my Heavenly Father corrects and disciplines me. To discipline is to correct for moral perfection. That is why the Bible says:
«As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent» (Revelation, 3:19).
15 times in the New Testament Jesus repeats the expression «He who has ears to hear, let him hear» (see Matthew 11:15; 13:9,43; Mark 4:9, 23; 7:16; Luke 8:18; 14:35; Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6,13,22; 13:9).
The Philip’s translation of the Bible states it the following way: “The man who has ears to hear must use them”.
