Receiving Correction with Joy

How many of you felt a catch in your soul at the title, and yet you were also curious to see if there was an actual way to joyfully receive correction?

I get it. As a child I would get a sinking feeling when my parents would correct me on something. There was a feeling of dread associated with correction because that meant I had messed up on something.

Now, to be clear, I'm speaking about how to love receiving Godly correction. There are people the Lord put into your life that have the authority to give Godly correction.

I once heard a leader say, "So-and-so should be more concerned when I stop giving correction than being concerned that I just corrected them. Correcting them means I care about their soul."

That hit me. I mulled it over. Because I haven't loved receiving correction. I mean--most of us don't, right? Correction feels bad. But does it have to? I went back to the Word and I'm going to send a few Scriptures your way.

Proverbs 3:12 NKJV "For whom the Lord loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights."

Hebrews 12:5-6 NKJV "And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him. For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives."

Hebrews 12:11 NKJV "Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."

It talks about love being the root in correction. I remember a time after my mom disciplined me, she said she loved me. I remember thinking, "it doesn't feel like it." But she cared to train me so that I didn't grow up to be a brat. She cared about who I was and who I would become.

Jesus cares, too. Why do we receive correction in shame and defensiveness? My own personal belief is that we tend to feel that we need to be perfect. If we're perfect, they can love us. If we make mistakes, maybe they won't love us anymore.

What if I told you that you don't need to be perfect to be loved? What if I told you that Godly authority is telling you that you matter enough to be called higher? What if they're holding you accountable for your actions because they care about you?

What if you could receive with joy the correction set before you? Correction doesn't necessarily feel good, but you can receive it with joy knowing that they watch out for your souls and see something beyond the mistake or decision you just made.

You joyfully receive affirmation right? What if correction is another way someone says "I love you. I care about you."

Let me leave you with this to ponder:

What if you started to view correction as the highest form of affirmation there is? Would that change how you receive it?