I’ve been reading a book called Sacred Parenting, by Gary Thomas. The book talks about how God uses our children to shape our souls draw us near to Him, or in other words, He uses them to refine us. Being a mother of four little ones, this book fits right in to my season of life. It has had me thinking that everything we face in life could be looked at with that point of view.
When the Bible speaks of refinement it is usually in reference to fire or heat. (Perhaps the rest of you have had heat on your mind this week too?) The Merriam Webster dictionary defines it as:
1: to free (as metal, sugar, or oil) from impurities or unwanted material
2: to free from moral imperfection
3: to improve or perfect by pruning or polishing
4: to reduce in vigor or intensity
5: to free from what is coarse, vulgar, or uncouth
I love how even though the refining process is usually not a comfortable one, the word “free” is part of the result. Free from impurities, from what is vulgar, from imperfections. God cannot be associated with sin. Yet He still takes us as sinners and refines us to perfection so we can spend eternity with Him. How I long for that day when I will be in paradise with Him and completely free of anything that has hindered me on this earth in my flesh. But until then I hope to look at each situation in my life as a way to be drawn closer to my Lord. Ask your self this week...what is God using to refine me? ...children, job, relationships, financial struggles, etc. And after we ask that we can take comfort in the promise that He is using it for our good and His Glory.
And we know that God causes all things to work together for the good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28
