Refinement

^“I will put this third through the fire; I will refine them as silver is refined and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say: They are My people, and they will say: The LORD is our God."  (Zechariah 13: 9, HCSB).

He never said the refinement process would be easy. Just the same, I shudder at facing it. I know that it’s for my best. I know that I will be better for it. Just the same, I shy away at the sign of discomfort, of pain. I step back when I see that this life lesson will hurt. Because I don’t like hurting. I’d rather live in a world without hurt and pain and loneliness. But I don ‘t. The realities of this world are hard to stomach at times. Just this morning I heard of some awful things on the radio. It was hard for me to believe that a woman could be treated like that. But she was. This world is filled with muck and grime, muck that our Savior wants to wash us free from. In order to do this, we have to give Him free reign. We have to give him control, so that He can work and move and slowly make us into something more beautiful than we can imagine. When given the choice, I would honestly take the ultimate beauty over the worldly muck, even if I do have to face trials and tribulations in the process. What about you?

Not By Strength

"So he answered me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by strength or by might, but by My Spirit, ' says the LORD of Hosts” (Zechariah 4:6, HSCB).

I love to be in control. Time and again I do things the hard way, trying to solve life’s problems, instead of handing the reigns over to my very able Savior. As I read this verse above, I was reminded once again about how great and powerful our God is. He can handle my worries, He can handle my frustrations, He can handle all of the bits and pieces of my life and make something beautiful of it yet. I can’t, but He can.

And for that, I’m extremely thankful.

What about you? Do you ever try to handle life’s problems on your own?

I Am With You

“Haggai, the LORD's messenger, delivered the LORD's message to the people, "I am with you" —the LORD's declaration” (Haggai 1:13, HCSB).

“I am with you.”

Such simple words, but so profound. So often I try to live this life on my own. I somehow think it’s my lot in life to suffer. I push through the pain like a martyr, knowing better things are ahead.

I think that God wouldn’t give me anything I can’t handle.

I think I can do it on my own.

But I can’t.

I’m weak.

Sometimes things are thrown at me that I truly can’t handle.

But then God whispers, "I am with you."

He reminds me that this world, and it’s trials, are not meant to be suffered alone.

They are there so that we can depend on Him all the more. Yes, there are things we can’t handle. But God is there. He can handle them. And all He asks is that we give Him those things with open hands and let Him take control.

This is such a hard thing to do. There are things that I daily have to give back to Him. Physical pain, hardships, loneliness, uncertainty—I give these things back to Him because I cannot deal with them in my own strength, I need Him to provide.

I need to recognize the difference it makes when He walks through this life with me. When He is in control. Because it most certainly makes all the difference.