Looking for His gifts...
thanking Him for each one.
How often we go through life in a fog.
Stuck in a rut.
Bored with the monotony.
It's during the truly hard times that we slow down and look for Him in our every day surroundings.
Then we cast our cares on Him and completely depend on Him to sustain us, to help us to stand while the winds of the storm threaten to blow us down.
That's when we are truly living.
Truly depending.
There's purpose in the fire of affliction.
Going through the fire burns off the dross.
DROSS.
That word has come before my weary eyes so many times these past few weeks. Never paid much attention to dross before. God is teaching me about dross. I'm paying attention.
Take away the dross from the silver, and the smith has material for a vessel.
Proverbs 25:4
From Webster's Dictionary:
Definition of DROSS
1
: the scum that forms on the surface of molten metal
2
: waste or foreign matter : impurity
3
: something that is base, trivial, or inferior
DROSS ~ the unnecessary stuff. The stuff that clouds our minds and fogs our perspective. Trash.
I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.
Isaiah 48:10
These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
1 Peter 1:7
Knowing that I am in the Refiner's hand brings purpose to the sting of the pain of the furnace of affliction.
He is working out the impurities to show the
pure, true, precious elements of
faith, trust and hope in Him
all to glorify Him and create in me
a heart for eternity.
A Heart for Him.
❤
❤
absolutely beautiful!
ReplyDeleteStacy, so beautiful and so true! Sunday, our pastor preached a sermon about how temptations and trials are allowed by God to strengthen and deepen our faith in Him. How does faith truely take hold unless we are totally dependent on Him.
ReplyDeleteHis text was James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3. knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
He explained that our "happiness" is dependent on our surroundings and circumstances but "JOY" comes only from God and is not dependent on anything but our relationship with HIM. Therefore anything that makes us more dependent on HIM and brings us closer to HIM should be counted as a blessing. Not an easy truth to understand or accept but as I think you understand it completely, as one who has gone through some of the trials that most people pray they never face.
The verses go on to talk about wisdom and how we can get wisdom. The wisest people I know are completely dependent on God. God bless you, your family and your sweet Lydia. You all are in my prayers and I have been requesting prayer at church too.
In Christian Love,
Trudy Rose (Christy Moore's Mom
Amen sister like always you draw ME closer to Him as you share your heart and your walk with me!
ReplyDeleteLove you lots
Jessie
Praying
The quiet time you describe in the car on the way home sounds like such a gift. The peace of the day but also the peace of God's love really help center our day, our heart, our soul and our spirit. We are offered soooo many gifts everyday, all day - it blows my mind at the opportunities we have to share those gifts, a kind word, a hug or even just a smile. Just the other day, a lady was driving in front of Kroger and she thought that she almost hit me - she stopped her car and reached her arm out of her window to grab my arm just to touch me and from that touch, I felt her sincerity and true concern for me. It was a moment! I love moments!
ReplyDelete