God’s correction humbles us in ways we need to be humbled. And when He does it, we have three choices: 1) Rebel against Him. 2) Make excuses. 3) Receive His correction and get back on track. But lasting change can’t even begin until you accept that God loves you unconditionally, just as you are. Without that, you’ll keep trying to change yourself in a vain attempt to earn His love and acceptance. The truth is, you already have it - you just don’t always realise it. We might think that by accepting ourselves we’re excusing all the things that are wrong with us. Not true. You can’t receive God’s correction properly until you really understand how much He loves you. Without that you’ll interpret His correction as rejection, and see His disapproval of your behaviour as disapproval of you. To grow spiritually you need to know that God’s committed to you, especially when He corrects you and leads you in ways you don’t understand. During those times you need to have an unshakeable trust in His love for you. Paul was convinced that nothing could separate him from God’s love (Romans 8:39). In Revelation chapter three God is speaking to each of us when He says, ‘those whom I [dearly and tenderly] love, I tell their faults…convict and convince…reprove and chasten.’ God’s correction actually proves His love for you. So if you feel God’s correcting you right now, be happy about it. It means He’s helping you grow.

What Now?
Next time you’re reading over something you’ve written to check for mistakes and improve your work, use it as a reminder that God’s correcting you to improve you, not to guilt-trip you.