Blameless

Yesterday I posted a video about blessing- a video which talks about the story of Manasseh and Ephraim. Jacob blesses the younger son despite it being the elder whom deserved it. Undeserved blessings. As if any blessings we have are ‘deserved’. But, blessings are blessings nonetheless.

Blessings are easier to think about than reproof aren’t they? But God appears to give both. Freely. What I’ve found interesting recently though, is when reading some of the Bible authors’ words, they ask for God’s reproof. They pour their hearts out before God and ask Him to search them, to show them where they’ve gone wrong. Take the portions of text below for example.

Can I be honest? I rarely pray this type of prayer. I rarely pray this type of prayer because I can seldom say that nothing springs to mind, which would eliminate me from reproof! Now I’m not saying that Job and David believed themselves to be perfect. We know enough of their lives to know that they weren’t. But yet there were moments in their lives where they could confidently say to God ‘you will find nothing’. Nothing. No bad attitude to the person that wound them up that day, no wrong thoughts, no succumbing to temptation. Their ‘feet have not slipped.’

Now the reality is, sometimes God wants to bless us. But sometimes He needs to reprove us. Both are good but only one appears to look good. Can we trust God in both? Can we be thankful for both? Both are loving.

“My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.” (Proverbs 3:11-12)

Can we ask The Holy Spirit daily; hourly even, to keep our mouths from transgressing? To hold fast our steps to His path? That we might pray bold prayers before our Maker? Can we be as thankful for reproof as we are for blessing?