Have you ever had God deal with you about something, whether it was about sin or God simply challenging you to come up higher? He may have dealt with you to lay something down in order to get something better. The Bible speaks of God disciplining us as sons. Why? So we will grow and mature.

And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?  If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all.  Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live!  They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness.  No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:5-11 (NIV)

If God just left us to our own devices we wouldn’t grow, or we might actually go backwards or even give up. When things get tough, it is human nature to give up. But God loves us too much to desert us or to let us stay the same. He doesn’t want us to struggle in our Christian walk, constantly striving but getting nowhere. He wants us to thrive and grow. Philippians 1:6 says that He who began a good work in us will complete it until Jesus comes for us. So, He will work all our lives in order to grow us.

God’s goal in dealing with us is to make us Christ-like. We will face many situations, struggles, trials, choices, and challenges. One reason is because it is a part of life. And God wants us to approach each situation in the same way that Jesus would.

One area that God will deal with in His quest to develop us into Christ-like maturity is sin. In Genesis 32, God dealt with Jacob because He needed to change Jacob’s character. He changed him from a deceiver, which is what the name Jacob means, and renamed him Israel, which means Prince With God, or One Who Prevails. But God had to deal with Jacob and his sin in order to be able to use him. And like Jacob, the more we struggle with God, the longer it takes for Him to change us. We must choose God’s will over our own, and we must surrender in order to be changed.

We are to resist the devil, not God. The more we cooperate with God’s dealings with us, the better off we will be. Unfortunately, sometimes God has to deal with us a long time to wear us down so we will submit to His will. When we are willing and obedient, we can be transformed.

So if God is currently speaking to your heart about something that you need to change or lay down, surrender to Him. When God puts His finger on something, it needs to be addressed for our own good. Make His desires your desires. Determine that you will stop fighting God and trying to hold onto things that will only slow down or halt your spiritual progress. Save yourself a lot of wasted time and energy by saying yes to God. “Not my will, but Thy will be done.”