Thank you, Lord, for what I do not deserve.
I say those words quite often, and I mean them every time that I say them. All I need to do is look back on my life before He called me to Himself, at all the instances since then where I have doubted Him, dishonored Him, sinned intentionally against His will for me, and I can easily say those words today.
Thank you Father, for what I do not deserve.
I do not deserve, nor will I receive eternal damnation, for I have been born again, but I most definitely deserved the scourings that I have received, a loving Father never allows continual rebelling against His will.
“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.” (Rev. 3:19)
I deserve every one of the punishments that were placed upon me, and I thank Him for them, but not until after the fact.
Rebellion is a tough trait to dispel, but the strongest for Him, I believe, were also at times during their lives the most rebellious. Pride, vanity, self-will must be destroyed, and I believe that many of us who serve Him will not take it upon ourselves to destroy them, unless we are forced to.
“Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” (2nd Tim. 3:12)
And many of those persecutions come from our disobedience.
A wild horse broken is useless, but one that can be taught that the master is a good master will obey willingly.
Many of those things that happen for good my friends we do not see as good when they are occurring, because many of them we bring upon ourselves. But with them, over time, comes the revelation and acceptance of the truth that it is ourselves we are fighting, and it is the Holy Spirit that reveals that truth to us. Everything that you have received from your Father in heaven you deserve.
A difficult pill to swallow, for we feel at times that we do not deserve the blessings that He has poured into our lives, and we definitely do not believe we deserve the chastisements, the punishments that we receive at times either. The closer He draws you to Himself, the more intense the punishment may be for what we might consider a minor infraction.
Remember that, for it is a truth.
Look what happened to Moses when all he did was strike the rock. We do not deserve anything, and we deserve everything we get.
“My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.” (James 3:1)
“But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.” (Luke 12:48)
Toeing the line because of the fear of possible chastisement or doing so because of our love for Him? That should be an easy question to answer for you.
There is truth though in the first part of that sentence, that question, because Hebrews 10:31 is also a truth, and is not only reserved for the wicked.
“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
If you sin, even after you repent of that sin, there will be consequences for that sin, but you must see it as coming from a loving Father, not a vengeful or vindictive God. It is how we learn.
And remember this, who did those apostles see speaking with the Lord Jesus Christ on what we call the Mount of Transfiguration, along with Elijah in the Promised Land that he was not allowed to enter into? Moses.
“Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” (Heb. 12:11)
When you are finally finished being upset about those times of chastisement, when you finish asking all those questions of “Why,” rejoice, for you are loved as a son, an heir to the Kingdom of your Father.
And then do not forget to tell Him, “Thank You.”
