The Comfort of Correction

Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4 (ESV)

Oftentimes Christians find solace in the presence of the Lord … and rightly so! In his presence there is fullness of joy, and at his right hand are pleasures forever (Psalm 16:11). Yet, in this psalm, as David is walking through the valley of the shadow of death, he finds comfort in a particular aspect of God: his discipline and correction.

Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. A shepherd’s rod was an instrument of correction. Sheep often go wherever their bellies take them; their appetites lead them to pursue a meal, even into dangerous crevices. The rod strikes the sheep, not out of anger, but out of lovingkindness and for their protection. God’s rod can keep you from falling.

Likewise, the staff is there to guide and correct. It is used to keep sheep on the right path, moving forward with the flock. It is so easy in the Christian life to, little by little, stray from God’s righteous way. One morning you can wake up realizing that you have become isolated and cordoned off from the people of God due to selfishness and sin. God’s staff can bring you back.

So, as David enters a seasons of fear and grief—the valley—he does not fear because of the Lord’s presence with him. Yet, his comfort is found in the instruments his Good Shepherd uses. Have you ever considered that the discipline and correction of the Lord is a blessed comfort in your life? They are.

The author of the Book of Hebrews reminds us that our Father disciplines those whom he loves (12:6), and he writes that “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. Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed” (vv. 11-13). Righteousness, straight paths, and healing are promised to those who embrace the rod and the staff.

These aren’t the typical words we hear preached in our churches today. We’d rather circumvent this process of correction with quick fixes, painless plodding, and easy living. However, David knows that in the time of deepest darkness is the time to turn toward the comforting instruction and discipline of God—it’s there to lead us and keep us from harm.

This is also the model we see in our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. As he approached Calvary and his impending death, he embraced God’s will and the discipline for all humanity that would come upon his shoulders. In the valley of the shadow of death, the Father’s rod comforted him … all the way to the end.

Pastor Joe Pytleski
Sturgeon Bay Community