Ouch and Oh Me!
This is my annual Fall photo that still makes me laugh when I see it – not to mention the memories that go along with it. BTW — I love seeing all your fun, family pumpkin patch photos.
We were out for a family outing to the pumpkin patch in Tulsa. The scarecrow would be a great photo opportunity. What I didn’t see was the big stick holding him up. Of course, my ever-witty daughter who has an eye for details, saw the humor from where the stick held the scarecrow up!
Staci remarked “Hmm….that’s gotta hurt!” Good news, the scarecrow wasn’t hurting, but what about us? At one time or another, we have all said: “It hurts so much.” We really were hurting — physically, emotionally, financially, spiritually or some other way. We share our painful story and someone might say, “Ouch!”
Maybe you’re saying “Ouch!” from the battles going on in your life today. I understand! There are times when I get one issue resolved and then another issue pops up. I’ve come to realize those “issues” are God’s way of giving me “growth opportunities.”
I live in a “glass house” when it comes to my blogs. I am so real that my readers can count on me speaking truth from my side of the “pumpkin patch”! Those growth opportunities keep me knowing that God is still working on me — shaping and molding me to fit the calling He’s given me. They remind me God is interested in my character, not my comfort.
Good news – God isn’t surprised by our character flaws, but He wants us to be squeaky clean like Malachi 3:3 reveals that the Lord comes to us “like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap”. The fullers’ soap (or alkali) was a strong soap used in the ancient East to whiten clothing.
And the refiner’s fire? That is a method of purifying precious metals with intense heat. Impurities rise to the top where they can be skimmed off and discarded. The way a refiner knows that the process of purification is complete is by looking into the open furnace and checking the reflection. He knows the dross has all burnt away when he can see his reflection clearly.
Clearly reflecting the image of our Maker is what we were made to do. Genesis 1:27 tells us God created us in His likeness and image. We were “marred” by sin when sin came into the world. The purification process removes that sin and restores our ability to reflect the goodness of God Himself.
The Lord is always taking us through the process of becoming holy and wholly set apart for Him. And sometimes that process isn’t “a piece of cake”. It often includes some suffering. Ouch and oh me….again!
In a silversmith’s workshop we’d see how the magnificent pieces had to undergo a grueling process in the workroom. There is pounding, turning, and heating before the polishing. For the silversmith to put his name on a piece, the silver must submit to treatment that seems harsh and cruel. But the treatment has great purpose. And the results are stunning.
Our God is not a cruel God. He allows the heating and shaping, the abrasive rubs and polishing in our lives for a reason. They are purifying and smoothing us so we will reflect Him.
It’s not easy, but it is worth it as we begin to reflect our Creator with our lives that point hearts toward Him. How grateful I am to know that nothing God allows us to go through is pointless. Even when we hurt, He is working all things for our good and His glory.
“For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver.” (Psalm 66:10)