Blessings

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BLESSINGS

Prov 20:30

30 Blows and wounds cleanse away evil, and beatings purge the inmost being.

NIV

Does this mean the Lord chastises us to cleanse us of evil and that chastisement penetrates deep within our being?

Heb 12:7-13

7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11 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. 12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 "Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

NIV

There are simply times in our lives when God needs to correct us, he needs to get us back on the right path because we have been straying in the wrong direction. This passage in Hebrews tell us that he does do because of his great love for us as his sons and daughters. This is not to say that every time we experience some difficulty in life, it is God disciplining us. It could also be the enemy trying to get us to get mad at God because things are going wrong. This kind of thinking is due to believing God is obligated to bless us all the time. But there are times when he needs to bless us by chastening us. His disciple may come to us in various ways. We might get a verbal correction from the Spirit as we read the word of God. An enlightenment about something we should be doing, or something we should not be doing. His discipline may come in the form of a difficult time in our lives, so that we might consider what it is we have been doing and need to change. The Apostle James addressed that situation.

James 1:2-8

 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

NIV 

There is nothing in this world that should interfere with our relationship as sons and daughters of the Most High God. When there is, because of his love for us, he needs to cleanse us of the evil. How he does that is up to him, not us. So then when the blows cause some wounds, when some beating purges our inmost being, let us know God is doing a good work in us. On the other hand if we are not getting any blows or beatings from the hand of God, maybe we are doing right in his sight. Hopefully that is the case rather than being rejected as a son. Nevertheless, knowing he will never leave or forsake us, it means he will never reject us. So then when we are not under some form of chastening, we can be confident he is pleased with us. However, there still may be times ahead he needs to step in and make some wounds within so we are made more like Christ.