Psalm 109:21

"But You, O GOD the Lord, Deal with me for Your name's sake; Because Your mercy is good, deliver me" Psalm 109:21

There are two ways for the Lord to deal with His children. They can ask. Or He can move sovereigntly.

If God has to move on His own to correct His children, it means that we are blatantly rebellious. We fail to see that we have done anything that needs correction. Or we know we have done wrong but choose not to do anything about it.

Saul was that type of person. He was bull headed. He was determined to go his own way. He knew what God wanted of him. He understood the instructions the prophet gave him. Still, he disobeyed - and he did it consistently. God attempted to correct Saul many times, usually by sending Samuel. Every time, Saul would refuse the Word of the Lord and continue in his own paths. In the end, God had no choice but to remove Saul.

That is hard. I suspect that some of us could give our own testimonies about how God has had to deal with us in a harsh manner.

On the other hand, when we freely say to the Father, "I have sinned. Please help me." Something totally different happens. David was that type of man. No, he wasn't perfect. He sinned a lot. He sinned big time. But when God called him to account for his actions, David responded with a soft heart. "I was wrong," was a frequent theme of David's life. But it went a little further. Not only did he say the words, but he followed up with "Lord help me." When he did that, God could apply a more gentle method of discipline. Why? Because David was prepared to change.

This is a much easier form of discipline to handle. And the key is our attitude. It is much easier to throw ourselves upon God's mercy than to insist that God inflict us with His judgment. Praise God, Amen and Amen.