your rod and your staff, they comfort me

Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Can we blame God for being holy? Can we rebel against Him for He requires a holy living?

As I was reading and meditating today, Isaiah1, I was burdened by the guilt or sin of Israel as the chapter says in these passages. I said to myself, “Oh Israel. How come you can do these things? The presence of God within you is so visible and yet they still do commit many sins that burdened the heart of God. That’s why God is correcting you.” Why was I dismayed with Israel? It’s because, how would you remain sinning while you already convinced that our God is holy and He is not happy to see us sinning. If only they turn from their wickedness and turn their hearts to God, they will experience how God will bring joy and happiness and their lives.

Then suddenly, I tried to put my foot in Israel’s shoe. Then I realized, I, too, is guilty of sin. I think everyone of us will agree that it is super hard to keep a blameless life. Everyone of us is guilty of sin for everyone of us is a sinner. It is true as we can see in Roman 3:23, “for all have sinned.”. That is the truth and if we cannot detest it.

Now, a thought came to my mind, “can we blame God for being holy? Can we rebel against Him for He requires a holy living?

As I kept meditating Isaiah 1, little by little, I understand why God said He was not pleased as to what Israel did. For God is all-knowing God, He knows that sin will certainly destroy every good things He put in our lives. He know that if we will continue to sin, though we keep on hiding it from others, will surely be brought to light and that will put us in huge shameful experience, and that may lead us to blame God. He knows that sin will break our connection to Him for He hates sin. Sin breaks, takes, destroys our relationships, works, our houses, and our lives. That is why God hates sin.

And that is why God corrects us when we sin. He disciplines us we are wrong. God wants us to live a life full of love, trust, comfort, happiness and joy. God wants us to learn how we overcome every trials. For He loves us so much and He cares when we need someone to care for us. He loves us so much and blesses us when we really need it badly.

I imagined what David said in Psalm 23:4, “for your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”. This confused when I first it read. How would a shepherd’s rod and staff comfort a sheep when shepherd use it to correct his sheep? Then I realized, the shepherd knows how to guide sheep to pasture, it is by guiding his sheep with his rod and staff.

So if we experiencing corrections from God, we should not blame God for being holy and for requiring us a holy living. Instead, we should thankful and happy knowing He cares for us by correcting us and leading us in good future with Him.

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Lord, thank you for taking time to correct our mistakes. You know us and we trust you our lives!