Zechariah 2:2-3
“Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD’S anger come upon you. Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’S anger.”
One great plea God has for His people is that they seek Him before they face His anger. God told Judah to seek Him “before the day” of His anger. God’s desire for them to seek Him was so that they may be “hid in the day of the LORD’s anger.” Despite the opinion of many, God does not want to chastise or chasten His people, but He will if they push Him to the point that He will no longer put up with their sin.
The verses above remind me of three stories. I am reminded of Naomi who had plenty of time to come back to God, but she waited until she lost everything but her life to come back to Him. I am reminded of Samson who waited until he was grinding in prison like an animal to finally come back to God. I am reminded of the prodigal son who waited until he wanted to eat the hog’s slop because he was so hungry to come back to God. Oh, it is sad that they waited until they faced God’s anger before they came back. Had they returned to God before His anger moved Him to punish them, they would have saved themselves from much heartache.
The best time to get right with God is now, before you have to face God’s chastening hand. God will chasten His own because He loves them, and not to chasten them means He does not love them. You can frustrate God’s grace by living in sin, but one day you will see God’s anger when He chastens you to bring you back to Him. Let me give you a few reminders about returning before the LORD’s chastening.
First, God does not want to punish you. God does not sit in Heaven waiting for an opportunity to chasten His children. God would rather you return to Him and seek Him so that He does not have to chasten you.
Second, don’t push God to the point that He must chasten you. You must remember that if God does chasten you, it is your fault, not His. God gives you plenty of opportunities to come back to seeking Him before He chastens you, but you are the one who ignored His gracious reminders to seek Him. God warned Samson plenty of times before He chastened him. God warned Naomi often before she lost everything. My friend, God loves you so much that He will send warnings that chastening is coming; don’t ignore the warnings and push God to chasten you. Always remember that it is your fault if God has to chasten you because He gave you plenty of warnings through the conviction of the Holy Spirit and through minor tragedies to get your attention.
Third, don’t let there be an “after” in your life. Accept the “before,” and you will never have an “after.” Seeking God “before” He chastens keeps you from the scars that the “after” God’s chastening will cause. Many have scars from sin because they waited until “after” the LORD chastened them.
Let me ask you, what are you doing that the LORD is trying to get your attention? Take God’s loving reminders as a warning that He is asking you to seek Him before He must chasten you. It is much better to have a “before” testimony than it is to have an “after” testimony to share with others.
