Course Correction
How comfortable are you with discipline and correction?
Verse of the Day
“To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction.”
Today’s Devotional
I remember when my dad was teaching me how to drive. We would be on a stretch of country road between our house and the small town where both my grandmothers lived. As a new driver, the road looked straight and simple to navigate. One of the lessons that my dad taught me was the importance of frequent, small course corrections while driving on a straight road.
Think about it. You can’t set your cruise control and then take your hand off the wheel, or take your eyes off the road. Driving requires attention and making tiny adjustments to the steering wheel to keep you in the center of your lane. Because there are elevation changes that affect the direction of the tires. Sometimes there is debris in the road. Many times a car has a “pull” in one direction or another that makes it more difficult to stay in the lane.
What if our spiritual journey requires something similar?
My default mode is to set my spiritual “cruise control” and get on with whatever I’m doing. Sometimes my spiritual habits need to be looked at to make sure I’m still heading in the direction I want to be going with God. Most times, when I take the time to do this, I see the need for small course corrections.
Recently, during a period of days that was especially hectic, I was spending time with God each day, but it was rushed and was not done with the heart of relationship. It was done more from a “checklist” motivation. (And please don’t misunderstand me: any time spent in the Word, even with a less-than-desirable motivation, is better than no time in the Word at all.) But God allowed me to see my misplaced priorities and gave me the grace and willingness to make a course correction. I’m very grateful for those gentle nudges from the Father. Because I know from personal experience what can happen when I don’t heed those gentle nudges.
A few years ago, a friend of mine suggested that I start praying that God would help me to be teachable. It’s something I still pray for often. But in order to be teachable, I have to be willing to be taught. And corrected. And disciplined. Which is not always the most pleasant process. Read today’s verse again: “To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction.” God’s Word is telling us the same thing my friend told me in different words.
Today’s verse tells me that discipline and correction are part of the learning process. I’m not to the point where I LOVE discipline and correction, but I am willing to receive it. One area where I frequently need “course correction” is with gratitude. I am very quick to encourage others to practice gratitude, but sometimes I fail to do this myself. I need a course correction. There’s no shame in that, it’s part of being human. We are about to spend a few weeks discussing and practicing gratitude. For today, I’d like us to each look at our current gratitude practice. How are you doing? Are you actively writing a gratitude list each day? Are you praying gratitude to the Lord each day? Are you telling others the things you are grateful for? Or…do you need a course correction?
I can picture the Father wanting to gently teach us what we need to learn, in the same way my dad taught me to drive on those country roads. Sometimes He is teaching us something completely new. Sometimes He is reminding us of the very valuable lessons we have already been taught. Either way, I pray that we will be teachable.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
How do you typically respond to correction? How could you improve on that? What could you ask God for in this area?
What does spiritual “cruise control” look like for you?
Ask God where you need to make some adjustments in your relationship with Him.
How can you become more comfortable with correction and discipline? Can you think of a time from your past where correction proved helpful?
How can you become more teachable?