Rejecting Correction: A Barrier to Spiritual Growth

0:00 Hello, and welcome back to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast. I'm your host, Connie Morris, and we are at games number 12, Rejecting God's Correction, the games we play with God. Today's episode is called Rejecting God's Correction. None of us enjoy being corrected. It can feel uncomfortable and often even painful. How about even embarrassing, right? But God's correction is one of the greatest expressions of his love. When we reject it, we miss opportunities for growth, healing, and alignment with his will.

0:42 Today, we're going to explore the story of King David, who accepted God's correction after his sin with Bathsheba and contrasted with others in scripture who resisted God's discipline. If you ever struggle to embrace correction, this episode will challenge you and encourage you. So let's check out David's first response to God's correction. You know, a lot of times when we are as adults, we don't want to be corrected and we refuse to be corrected. And it's really correction by the Holy Spirit. If the Holy Spirit can't get to you, you know how many times people get embarrassed on national TV or in some kind of prophecy because they don't allow the internal spirit of God to correct them.

1:37 And so many times God wants to kind of have a private correction with you, but if you don't let him privately correct you, he's going to make that correction known. And so you want to avoid the public corrections. Amen. So let's check out 2 Samuel 12, 1 through 7. Of course, I won't be reading the whole scripture, but you can. So 2 Samuel 12, 1 through 7. It's after David has sinned by committing adultery with Bathsheba. In arranging the death of her husband. God sent the prophet Nathan to confront him. And it just caught my mind.

2:19 Her name was Bathsheba. What was she doing? She was on the top roof taking a bath. So God named this lady right. So let's read. It said, then Nathan said to David, you are the man. This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says. I am anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? So this was a point where David was corrected by the prophet Nathan about his actions. He gave a story of stealing a sheep or a lamb from a person that was poor.

3:06 And we know that David was king. And if he was at war, he wouldn't have saw Bathsheba taking a bath on the porch, but he wasn't. His eyes wandered on the porch. And was Bathsheba knew that the king could see her? Did she do that purposely? Was this a setup by Bathsheba? You know, we don't know. We just know this was in the Bible for a reason. But David was actually caught by the Lord. Why? Because the Lord sees everything. And so David could have rejected Nathan's rebuke, but instead he responded with humility.

3:47 David was busted. He was busted in his action of sleeping with this man's wife. And then he said, when he was caught in his act, he said, Then David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord, 2 Samuel 12, 13. David's willingness to accept correction allowed him to be restored by God through worse, but there were still consequences for his actions. There's always consequences for your actions. Let's kind of back this up a little bit. But we see here that David was confronted by a prophet, Nathan, because God sent him.

4:30 And God was, you know, this was the man's wife. He was sleeping with this man's wife. Matter of fact, you had other people, because David couldn't knock on the door and go pick her up. He had to have other people part of his sin. So he had to send his servants, go grab that lady off the porch. I want to meet with her, bring her in to meet. She had sex. now to get her back to the house quietly so nobody would see her. We know that. I think Bathsheba ended up pregnant. And so it's a lot of things that's happening here that when we think about sin and all the consequences of sin and how David had to plan this whole thing out, we don't want to make it sound so simple and easy.

5:11 But David said, okay, I want to say I have sinned against the Lord. Let's move on. It says accepting God's correction is the first step towards restoration and healing. So we knew all the planning and plotting that David did. But one thing he did realize that that sin wasn't against Bathsheba, it was against the Lord. So his first step is saying, yes, I've sinned. So many times, I always keep saying many times, but when you are confronted with a sin that... Don't make an excuse about it. You got busted and you said, I have sinned against who? The Lord, because he doesn't miss it. He's watching you.

5:53 He's got an eye on his children. He's a father. How do you respond when God reveals areas of your life that need change? That's a good question. That's a good question. You know, we are at different levels of glory to glory to glory. And so you might have like, dang, I stopped doing that. And then you go to another level and God wants you to stop doing something else. Right? So you're like, dang, I got to give that up too. I got to give that up too. I got to give that up too. Remember, it's the games we play with God. The closer you get to God, the more holy he wants you to be. Why? Because he's holy. He wants you holy.

6:34 And he does it in such a loving way. Just layer by layer by layer by layer. But many, maybe, I keep saying many, but if we want to keep our sin, and that prevents us from coming closer to God. So how do you respond when God reveals area of your life that needs to be changed? Many of the devotions I write are really personal story, my personal walk with God. I mean, I'm at 226. So there's layers of layers of how God wants us to get closer and closer to him. And they come through spending time with him.

7:14 I mean, he has the word of God. That's the Bible, right? And so he's always talking. He's always talking and he's getting you fit and ready for heaven. If, think about this, if we read that heaven, we walk on, what, gold? You know if gold is the standard. Oh my gosh, you know the rest is like holiness, and holiness is the standard. So there's a lot, and we live on this earth full with sin. He's still purging us from some stuff. And so when a holy God tells you, I need you to let that go, I need you to stop doing that, layer by layer by layer, how do you respond?

8:07 Let's continue. First of all, let's talk about the danger of rejecting God's correction. Rejecting correction doesn't just stop growth, spiritual growth, even physical growth sometimes. it can lead to destruction. So let's contrast David's humility with King Saul. We covered that in other episodes, but he's a good example. When Saul disobeyed God's instruction, he refused to take responsibility, making excuses instead of repenting. 1 Samuel 15, 22 reads, but Samuel replied, does the Lord delight in burnt offering and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord?

8:49 To obey is better than sacrifice and to heed is better than the fat of rams so sanya was like i need you to obey i didn't need you to try to make up a story saw refused to accept correction cost him his throne and legacy there's some people who repent right away there's some people who make up excuses we know those people right away which one are you. David said, I have sinned against the Lord. Samuel was like, is it better to obey? It's better to obey than make sacrifices. What he's saying is you should have obeyed instead of making these excuses. That's what I need you to do.

9:31 So you're coming up with a lot of excuses and you, I just need, you only had like, yes, I always like this saying, you only have one job and that's to obey. So Saul refused to accept correction, cost him his throne and legacy. What would that cost you when we refuse to obey? Rejecting correction keeps us stuck in patterns of sin and prevents us from walking in God's purpose. It puts a barrier between us and God when we keep making up excuses about why we keep doing the things we do. I just spoke about God's trying to get us to this holy standard so we can walk with him in his holiness in his place of holiness.

10:18 So are you going to be like, David, Lord, I've sinned against you and deal with the consequences and get close and deal with consequences. Don't get me wrong to deal with that and clean up his life and get closer to God or like saw who it cost him, his throne, his legacy, and even, you know, read the rest of the story, his life and say, We see here also noted that when you reject the correction, you stay stuck. And we know people who stay stuck in these sin patterns, right? I mean, Mike, I told you I was a retired police officer. I'm a retired police officer. I said, well, still is, still retired.

11:04 But when you teach corrections, when you're in this field, you see people, even in the health and human services, which I spent a little time in, People stay stuck in patterns of sin, patterns of trauma. Why? You have to repent of that sin. First, identify it and then find ways to get rid of it. Don't keep doing it. It's not helping you, right? So my question to you is, are you resisting God's correction because it feels uncomfortable or inconvenient? Right? Because you can always tell a person who's going to repent or going to kind of, they're going to make excuses.

11:51 Not kind of make excuses, they're going to make excuses. Just when they get caught. It wasn't me, it wasn't me. You didn't see me on, got cameras everywhere these days. You got cameras everywhere. I don't know if you take a moment, every now and then I like to watch a little crime show on YouTube. and these people, right, the police got, they have you on camera and you're going like, that was not me. Your phone was there. Everybody was there, but that wasn't you. You know, so two things here is, are you resisting God's correction because it feels uncomfortable or inconvenient? God's correction, listen, isn't about punishment. It's about love.

12:34 Hebrews 12, 5 through 6 reminds us that my son, do not take it lightly, my son or daughter, do not take it lightly of the Lord discipline and do not lose heart when he rebukes you because the Lord disciplines the one he loves and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son. So just like your parents give you a spanking, the Lord gives you a spanking. Why? Because he loves you. So here's why God's correction is essential. Number one, it protects us. God corrects us to keep us from the path that leads to harm. It refines us.

13:18 Correction helps us to grow in character and spiritual maturity. It aligns us with his will. Through correction, God redirects us back to his purpose and plans. So we see here it protects us. It refines us and it aligns us with his will. Hebrews 12, 11 reads, no discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. I can go a lot longer on that one, but let's move on. how to embrace God's correction.

13:59 How do we stop playing this game of rejection, rejecting correction, and start embracing it as part of God's love? Here are three steps. How do we stop rejecting correction? We all at one time had to be severely corrected by God. And a lot of many, I say many times, it brings you closer to God. I remember my time when I was like under severe correction. I think it was like two years I made a decision and my consequences lasted about two years. My goodness.

14:41 And I was like, wow, that was one. I learned a lesson right there. and that lesson taught me you do not play games with God at all. You just do not play games with the Lord. I don't even know I was a new Christian, but at the end of the day, God protected me. He refined me and he aligned me with his will and then he called me, to the ministry because I passed that difficult test. So how do you allow God to correct you?

15:22 How do you not play games with this correction game here? Number one, you want to humble yourself. Humble yourself. Recognize correction is like love. God's guarding you. He's protecting you. He's saying, don't do that, my son, my daughter. I love you. That's not where I want you to go. And it can be done by him. He can use someone to do it. I remember as a police officer, you arrest someone and you're on your way to the jail. You're saying if they're not too drunk or intoxicated, you might have an opportunity to speak to them. Or maybe you're just being nice to them and they're like, dang, because people who get arrested and those cuffs are medical.

16:05 Cuffs. So they're not soft, cuffy, fun. You're locked in the back on a rubber. It's not a fun ride, let's say. You're not comfortable back there. And so you remember that event. You remember like, this is not where I want to be ever again. That's a correction in itself. That right there is a whole correction in itself. And that could be a humbling experience. You didn't die in that event. So that's a plus, but you were very humbled in that event. And so recognizing that correction is a gift, not a punishment. So number one, you humble yourself.

16:47 James 4.10 says it clearly, humble yourself before God and he will lift you up. Number two, ask for wisdom. And James 1.5 says, If any of you ask, lacks wisdom, you should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given to you. So pray for the ability to discern and apply God's correction. So he gives you correction and you go like, okay, can't do that. How do I not get in trouble with that again? Some people take a couple of corrections to get it right. Some people only take one. It took me one time. Hello. Number three, take action. Don't hear God's, don't just hear God's correction. Act on it.

17:35 James 1.22 says, don't merely listen to the word and so deceive yourself. Do what it says. So don't just read the word. Do what it says. You know, so God has a way of saying, don't do that. And you go like, was that the Lord? Then you go do it. And then there's consequences. So number one, humble yourself, ask for wisdom, and take action. How do we reject this game of correction, playing the game like not receiving correction from God? We humble ourself. We recognize that God loves you so much that he's taking time out of his life, his time out of his busy schedule to say, son, daughter, I love you so much that I'm going to stop you from doing that.

18:30 I want to correct you. Yeah, you have some consequences, but you didn't die from that incident. My desire is that you draw closer to me. So you might be a little upset, but that's okay. I'm a father and I love you. And when you get over your upsetness, that's a word, I'm here for you. Ask for wisdom. Lord, I keep making these same dumb mistakes. I need your help. Why do I keep being drawn to the same, doing the same stupid stuff over and over? I need some new friends. Help me find new friends. First of all, help me get rid of the old ones because they keep getting me in trouble.

19:15 But help me find some new friends. And number three, Lord, you told me not to do this. Show me how not to do this. Take action. You show me how to not do this, but show me how. Maybe you have an addiction to something and you need help on how to not have an addiction to something. You know, your flesh has grown accustomed to having this thing part of your life. It can be video games. It can be pornography. It can just be sex. It can just be whatever it is that your body likes but God doesn't like. And he's trying to cut you apart. It could be food. It could be certain kinds of foods.

19:57 Right? And so you want to be able to ask God, how do you want me to do this? I need your help. He doesn't just correct you. He wants you to ask more questions, right? So you can get it right. And so it's a partnership. If you really handle the correction like David did, he handled it well. Remember Bathsheba ended up pregnant. The baby was sick. Then the baby, he fasted and prayed. Then the baby died. He got up, took a shower, and it was done. They were like, wow, this is the time you should be crying. He said, no, I'll see my baby in heaven. But God did what he, this was God's, this was the result of the consequence that I, that I, this was his correction in me.

20:42 He knew, and he got up and he moved on, you know? So we have to understand how God works. So let's decree on how to embrace God's correction. Number one, I decree that I will welcome God's correction as an expression of his love and care. I decree that I will respond to correction with humility and a desire to grow. That's powerful right there because once you actually allow that correction to happen, you receive it, you say, okay, God loves me, I can no longer do that, and you put it into work in your life.

21:29 You're going to see yourself grow. I'm telling you, he can use you in so many different ways when you allow that to take effect. You know, David's life changed. My life changed. I know many other people have testimony of how you stopped doing a thing and then you saw your spiritual life grow, your physical life grow, your financial life grow, because God wants to bless you because you're going to be an example for his kingdom. And the final decree, it reads, I decree that I will act on God's guidance, trusting that his discipline leads to righteousness and peace.

22:10 We want that peace. Nothing like a good night's rest. Nothing like not looking behind you, waiting, watching. Nothing like just peace. You know that. Just able to just rest in perfect peace. So this week, reflect on how you've been responding to God's correction. Ask yourself, am I resisting correction or am I embracing as part of God's refining process? Don't think it's going to be a one-time thing. Once you get past one, he's going to refine. He's refining you for a holy purpose. And it's not just for you, I find out, because someone else is going to need what you just got through.

22:54 What steps can I take to align my heart and actions to God's will? It does take a heart change. It does take you getting your heart right. Because we're thinking, I don't know what we're thinking, but sometimes we may think, like, is it really worth it to walk in this holy life on earth when everybody else is doing it? We always think everybody else is doing it, but we only think about it. It's only you and your friends right now. It's only the people you see. Get out of that world that you see and you'll find out everybody is not doing it. Everybody get off of that YouTube feed. Get off of those things that you think everybody is doing it.

23:39 I'm sorry, everybody is not doing it. So find a different group of friends. Everybody is not doing it. It's just you and your friends, you and your crew, you and the people on the feed, because we attract the way we are. You ever notice that? And the one thing, another challenge that can really help you, and even if you are, maybe you feel like you're the only one that's being holy. Maybe it may be looked that way for a minute, but then you're going to start to attract people who are actually doing what you're doing. So spend time in prayer and journaling. Journaling is really so good because it helps you to put God's voice into words on a page, asking God to reveal areas where you need his correction.

24:31 So before he corrects you, It was kind of like going to your mom saying, Lord, going to your mom saying, Mom or Dad, you know, I need help with this. Can you help me? And, you know, they were like, you know, yes, I can help you because we're about to talk to you about that. So it was before they asked, before they get to you, right? Before the punishment. And God said, you know, I need help with this. So good. I was going to talk to you about that. So always kind of being ahead of the game. And then write down one step that you can take to align yourself with his guidance this week. So one thing you want to do is spend time in prayer and generally asking God to reveal areas where you need his correction.

25:14 Write down one step you can take to align yourself with his guidance and put it to work. Right. So let's close this out. Heavenly Father, thank you for loving us so much. Loving us enough to correct us when we go astray. Help us to see your discipline as a gift that protects, refines, aligns, and even calls us to your purpose. Teach us to respond with humility and obedience, trusting that your correction leads to righteousness and peace. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for joining me on this episode in our series, The Games We Play With God.

25:56 Today's message is, if it challenged or encouraged you, share with a friend and subscribe for more inspiring content. Until next time, stay humble. Stay on God's corrected side. Stay obedient and be blessed. Amen.