When Love Will Not Let You Drift
God’s warnings are not to punish, but to wake us to the life He has already given.
Devotional Credit:
Immeasurably More – Painful Love
Photo Credit:
Unsplash
Today’s reading from Ray Stedman reminds us that God’s first response to our drifting is not anger but faithful warning. When our hearts begin to wander, He calls out to us repeatedly, making the consequences of sowing to the flesh unmistakably clear. The principle is unavoidable: if we sow to the flesh, we will reap corruption from it. Even when forgiveness is granted, the scars remain. God’s love does not erase every earthly consequence, but it does redeem us fully in Him.
God’s calling is more than a command; it is an act of longing. Like the father in the parable of the prodigal son, He looks across the horizon for our return. His persistence is patient, often lasting years, as He seeks to awaken our love and gratitude through gentle reminders, circumstances, and the prayers of others. He waits with steadfast affection for us to come home.
But there is a final measure of love that God will use when all other means are exhausted: judgment. This is not the withdrawal of love, but its intensification. C. S. Lewis once observed that God whispers in pleasures, speaks through conscience, and shouts through pain. In that way, pain becomes a divine megaphone to wake us from spiritual deafness. Many can recall times when they resisted God’s voice until hardship brought them to attention.
Jeremiah’s generation had reached such a place. God commanded that prayer for them should cease, not because He had given up on them, but because judgment was now the only remedy. Preaching was to continue, because the truth would bring the necessary confrontation that prayer would delay. It was time for the radical surgery of God’s love, a love so committed that it will allow pain to restore His people.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
I have called to you again and again. My voice has gone out in the quiet moments and in the pressing trials. I have spoken through My Word and through the inner stirrings you could not ignore. I have drawn you with cords of lovingkindness, longing for you to turn and live in the fullness I have already given you in My Son.
When you drift toward the desires of the flesh, I do not turn away. I warn you because I love you. I let you know that sowing to the flesh will bring a harvest of corruption, not because I want to shame you, but because I want you to live in the freedom that is yours in Me. Even when scars remain, I am the One who redeems and brings beauty from what was broken.
If you resist My gentle calls, I will still pursue you. I may allow hardship to come, not to destroy you, but to wake you. Pain, though hard, can break the grip of what keeps you from Me. I discipline those I love so that you may share in My holiness. My goal is always restoration, never rejection.
Even in judgment, My heart is toward you. My patience is not passivity. My discipline is not abandonment. My correction is the last act of love to draw you back into the life of abiding in Me. I am for you, not against you. Return, and walk again in the joy of your salvation.
Scripture References: Jeremiah 7:13, Galatians 6:7–8, Hosea 11:4, Hebrews 12:6–11, 1 Peter 5:10, Luke 15:20, James 5:19–20, Psalm 51:12, Romans 8:31
Real-Life Analogy
Imagine a smoke detector blaring in the middle of the night. At first, you might try to ignore it, assuming it’s a false alarm. But as the sound persists and grows impossible to dismiss, you are forced to get up and investigate. The alarm is not there to punish you, but to save you from danger that could destroy everything.
God’s warnings and even His discipline are like that alarm. They are meant to wake us from a sleep that could lead to loss. Today, if He allows a discomfort, a closed door, or a sharp confrontation with truth, it may be His way of protecting you from something far worse. In that moment, you can say, “Lord, I trust You to work through this to draw me into Your life and purpose right now.”
Prayer of Confidence
Lord, I thank You for loving me enough to call me back when I drift. I praise You that even Your discipline flows from Your heart of mercy. Thank You that I am secure in Jesus and that nothing can separate me from Your love. I rest in the certainty that You will complete the good work You began in me. Whether through gentle whispers or through the sharper sounds of correction, I trust You to lead me into Your fullness today.