If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you
and made my thoughts known to you.
How Do You Receive a Rebuke?
by Peter Horrobin
Proverbs 2:23, NIV
None of us likes to receive a rebuke. However, a rebuke given in love is like the
lines of a railway, keeping the engine and the train on track and going in
the right direction. But there is an enemy within which each one of us has
to contend with, which hates a rebuke from the Lord and does everything it
possibly can to rise up in rejection of the loving advice which is implicit
within a rebuke from the Lord. And the name of that enemy? Pride!
When pride is given control of our emotions and our reactions we put
ourselves in a potentially dangerous place and, what is more, we miss out on
all that God was waiting to pour into our hearts in order to bless,
encourage and direct our steps with His all-embracing love. He does not
reject those He rebukes, for a rebuke from the Lord is a hallmark of His
love.
A rebuke from the Lord, correctly received, opens the doors of our soul to
the leading of the Spirit of God and knowing God`s thoughts for our lives.
But He`s not going to pour into our hearts all the things that He longs for
us to understand, if as a result of our pride we have given God the signal
that we don`t want to hear His voice.
In order to understand the ways of the Lord we have to learn to both
recognise His voice when He speaks and respond gladly, even if what He says
is a corrective rebuke. If we can learn to silence the voice of pride and
learn from the gentle leading of the Lord, He will be constantly speaking
His wisdom into our hearts and our lives will be kept safely on track.
Prayer: I`m sorry, Lord, for the times when I have rejected Your loving rebuke into my life. Please forgive me for allowing pride to stand in the
way if You pouring out your heart into mine. I choose, Lord, to welcome Your
rebuke whenever it`s necessary and ask You to keep on pouring out Your heart
of love into mine. In Jesus`s name, Amen.
Peter Horrobin is the Founding and International Director of Ellel Ministries. The work was originally established in 1986 as a ministry of healing in the north-west of England, but today the work has spread round the world, with Ellel Centres in over thirty nations. Peter has been doing lots of writing recently, including the "Journey to Life" series which can be purchased online at sovereignworld.com.
Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship. Provided full acknowledgement is made to Seeds of the Kingdom as the source, you are also welcome to use it in a non-commercial way and reproduce it in magazines or other Christian websites. The copyright for any commercial use of the material remains with Ellel Ministries International.
