Living in Alignment of His Blueprint
Scripture Focus: Proverbs 3:1–12 — "My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights." (Proverbs 3:11–12)
There's something deeply uncomfortable about driving a car that's out of alignment. You're trying to go straight, but the vehicle persistently pulls you where you don't want to go. Similarly, have you ever picked up a guitar with strings out of tune, expecting something beautiful only to hear discordant notes? Or perhaps you've experienced a physical injury that required chiropractic adjustment to realign your body?
Living with things out of alignment is painful. And spiritually speaking, when any area of our life fails to align with God's word and His design, we experience the same discomfort and danger.
The Beauty of Realignment Through Repentance
Repentance isn't a scary word—it's an incredibly grace-saturated, merciful concept about coming into alignment with God's thoughts and ways. When we repent, we simply change our mind to come into agreement with God's mind. We adjust our thinking to align with His, recognizing that His thoughts are higher than our thoughts and His ways higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:9).
This realignment is where we find health and wholeness according to our Creator's design. As Proverbs 3:7-8 reminds us:
"Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones." (ESV)
The kindness of God leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4), inviting us back into harmony with how we were designed to function.
Grace is the Doorway to Sonship
John 1:11-12 tells us: "He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." (ESV)
Isn't it incredible that God's grace gave us the right to become what our sin forfeited? Our sin—beginning with Adam and Eve—forfeited our place in God's family. Sin broke our sonship and our intimate relationship with the Father. But through grace, flowing through the cross of Jesus, God washed our sin away so we could become what sin had stolen from us.
As the hymn "It Is Well With My Soul" so beautifully expresses:
"My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!"
Holiness is the Call of Sonship
Once the grace of God adopts us back into His family and restores our sonship, Scripture has much to say about how we should live as God's children. Grace rescued us from darkness when we were dead in our sins—we had nothing to do with the grace that saved us. But then grace pulled us into God's family and called us to be like our Father.
1 Peter 1:14-17 puts it this way:
"As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy.' And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile." (ESV)
There is no true house of God where holiness is not preached—where there isn't an invitation and call to be holy as He is holy.
We’re Born Again for Holiness
If you try to be holy without being born again, it's frustrating and ultimately leads to religious legalism. The Pharisees achieved a form of holiness without being born again, and it was empty and powerless.
On the other hand, being born again but not pursuing holiness is equally miserable. When you believed in Jesus and received Him, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13). When God saved you, He placed holiness inside of you!
If you're born again, there is already within you a hunger to be holy as He is holy. This is the mercy and grace of God—He saves us by grace and sanctifies us by the Holy Spirit within us. Our job is to say "yes" to that inner prompting toward holiness and allow the Spirit to correct and shape us.
To a child of God, saying "be holy for I am holy" is like saying to a fish "swim," to a dog "bark," or to a tree "grow." It's what you were born again to become.
1 John 2:3 makes this clear: "By this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments." (ESV)
And in 1 John 3:9-10: "No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother." (ESV)
The Journey to Maturity & Our Father's Discipline
None of us have fully arrived at perfect holiness. The Apostle Paul himself says in Philippians 3:12-14:
"Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (ESV)
We are all called to mature in our faith. Men are called to mature manhood. Women are called to mature womanhood. All of us are called to leave behind childish ways and grow up into the full stature of Christ (Ephesians 4:13).
At the heart of our growth in holiness is God's fatherly discipline. There are three things our heavenly Father does: He shows affection, He speaks identity, and He brings correction.
Proverbs 3:11-12 encourages us:
"My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights." (ESV)
Hebrews 12:7-11 expands on this truth:
"It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." (ESV)
Four important truths about God's discipline:
It is a sign of His love, not His anger
It is fundamental to our sanctification
It is not enjoyable in the moment
It will produce righteous fruit in our lives if we allow it to train us
The Kingdom of God is "righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17, ESV). You can't build peace where there's no righteousness, and you can't build joy where there's no peace. God's loving discipline shapes us into righteousness, which becomes the foundation for lasting peace and joy.
Practicing the Fear of the Lord
Psalm 111:10 teaches us that "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever." (ESV)
How do we practice the fear of the Lord?
Through three key actions:
Allow God's Word to correct you
Allow God's Spirit to convict you
Allow God's people to challenge you
Jesus took repentance seriously. In Matthew 11:20, we read that "Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent." (ESV)
Our cities will never repent if our churches don't repent first. As children of God, we're invited into a journey of continuous realignment with our Father's heart and ways—yielding to His loving discipline and growing in the holiness He has placed within us.
Reflection Questions
In what areas of your life do you sense the Holy Spirit calling you to realignment with God's word and ways? Take time to read Scripture, pray, and consider where you might need to repent.
How does understanding that holiness is already planted within you (if you're born again) change your perspective on pursuing a holy life? Journal about how this truth empowers rather than burdens you.
Which of the three practices of fearing the Lord (allowing God's Word to correct you, His Spirit to convict you, or His people to challenge you) is most difficult for you? Ask God for grace to grow in this area this week.