Silver

Today's blog is from an email that my mother sent me. Perhaps some of you have seen this before...but I had not.

Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."
This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot;then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of t he fire the whole time the silver was being refined.

The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a ! moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.
The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?"

He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it"

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

Wow, when He sees His image in me. Pretty amazing.

Unleashed

You know what really drives me crazy? When people walk thier dogs without a leash or let them run around their yard, no leash, no fence...nothing. Don't get me wrong, I realize the unexpected happens. Dogs dash out the front door or learn how to open the fence, better yet...they chew your fence to pieces (I happen to be the owner of one of metro Detroit's better known escape artists). I'm talking about when people knowingly do these things with thier dog. First of all, I guess I have to admit that I am insanely jealous of anyone whose dog behaves that well to even attempt it. Secondly, I don't buy it. It is just not safe. As good as you think your dog is, there is always the chance that they will run. They could see something, get spooked, who knows, but why take the chance?

But the reason it really gets to me is because it makes life SO much more difficult for those of us who do walk thier dogs on a leash. On more than one occasion I have been walking my dog (sometimes both of them) and here comes this dog out of nowhere, running up to mine and just starts this mass chaos! Here's the owner trying to get them back, saying "fido no! Come back here!" (which works really well doesn't it) completely shocked that thier dog would run to meet another dog that they see on a walk. Even the nicest most well behaved dog, when they see another one, will generally want to go and meet that dog. Does it mean they are a bad dog? No, not at all. They probably just want to play, or say hi or whatever.

Even if all the dogs involved are nice and totally fine with eachother, it still makes it 10 times harder for me to control my dog! Have you ever been around 2 or more very excited (and large) dogs? CRAZY! And lets just face it. My dog may not want to meet your dog. So, here I am trying to calm down a dog (and sometimes his brother at the same time) that is almost the same size as ME while this strange dog is running around us causing all kinds of ruckus. And we can't even walk away, because fido can just follow. And my dog, who is generally a good dog and will listen to me if he can even here me above fido's whining and barking and his owners feeble attempts to get him back. But he can't hear me, so he is getting totally frustrated and overstimulated and will probably lash out at fido just to stop the maddness!! (And, just a little extra information for those who didn't know...most times even a very confident and well behaved dog will feel threatened when he is on a leash and the other dog is not. It is like a weakness for him, so he feels vulnerable).

And then what happens? I'll tell you. Everyone who sees what is going on thinks...what a bad dog (my dog), what's wrong with him? Why would he lash out at poor innocent fido running around free to do whatever he pleases (while my dog would've totally minded his own business had fido been on a leash or behind a fence), fido is just so nice and cute...he just wanted to play. And what about that owner...can't she control her dog? I am! That's why he is on a leash!

Whew. Okay, so now I got that out. Sorry about my soapbox there. If you are someone who lets their dog run free or walks them off leash, I don't hate you. I don't mean for this to sound judgemental. It would be really great if all dogs could just run around free and all other dogs and people just loved them and everything was just fine and dandy. But that is just not the case.

I really honestly love you all! I'm just telling my side of the story. Perhaps it just doesn't occur to people the things that can happen. But seriously, it is so frustrating. And now I hesitate to walk my dog because of all the others that run around free. Too many unexpected things can happen. I personally believe that a dog should always be on a leash even if they are the best most well behaved dog in the world. It is just better for the dog, for the other dogs around and all the people involved.

Listening

I asked God to speak to me today, and I got to thinking about "listening". When I am expecting to hear from God about a particular situation, I will almost always look for the answer I want for that situation. I'm finding that it doesn't always happen that way. God does speak, but sometimes because of my "filters" I hear what I want to hear and not what I need to hear.
Psalm 34:17-18 says "The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."
So, in times of trouble I read this and I want to think..."the Lord will deliver me...he will give me exactly what I want! He will work this out exactly as I've planned it. See, I knew that God would work this out for me". But is that what it really says?
What is God really saying to me:
"Things may not go exactly as you have planned. You may not get the answer you want. You may not even get an answer, but it is okay because I will deliver you. When you think you can't live without the very thing you want the most, I will deliver you. That doesn't mean that I will give it to you. I may show you that you can live without it, in fact, you can be happy and content without it. When I say I will give you peace and joy, I don't say that so you think you will get what you want. I say that because just when you think you can't get through a certain situation, when you are broken hearted and crushed in spirit, I will deliver you. I will give you strength you never knew you had. So, when I tell you that you can have hope, it doesn't mean that if you sit around and "hope" long enough, you can expect things to turn out exactly as you have planned. It means that I will deliver you and you will be okay if they don't. When I say I am working, I am not bringing your plans into fruition. I am planning even bigger and better things."
See, I guess I've always thought that peace, joy, hope, contentment etc..were all tied up in the things I wanted. That when God said He would give us all those things, it meant that we would eventually get what we wanted. How far from the truth. We can only experince all of those things as we submit to what He wants for us and realize that we are okay in fact we're better off, even if His plans are different than ours.
Those of you who read my thoughts regularly are probably seeing a theme here. You think God is working on my need to "control" things?

Waiting

I hate waiting. I have to be one of the most impatient people on the planet. I find the shortest lines, take the fastest routes and put things off if it means that I may have to wait.
If something needs to be done, I do it now...I can't wait. When a problem comes along, I need a solution now...I can't wait. To me, waiting is just a needless inturruption in my busy schedule. It is wasted time. The problem is, I can't avoid waiting...no one can! So, I am usually just making myself crazy when the wait comes my way.

I'm reading this book that addresses waiting on God. It talks about waiting purposefully. God brings us to our "waiting rooms" to reach us and teach us. Not to irritate or upset us. It encourages us to view our waiting times as opportunities. Opportunities to grow closer to Him. When we are waiting on God we are not waiting for the outward thing...whatever it is that we want or we think we are waiting for. We are waiting on the inward work that God is doing in our lives.

I am waiting on God right now. For something I have wanted for a long time. Even though God has never let me down before, waiting for Him is SO hard. I have been viewing this wait just like all the others. A needless waste of my time. I've felt like I had to just sit back and be silent, accepting that nothing is happening until God decides to answer my prayer.

Now I see that God is not doing "nothing" he is still working. It is true that I may not get the "answer" to what I am waiting for, at least not in the time that I would like it. But this is not about what I'm waiting for, it is about what God is waiting for. He's waiting for me to become mature and complete, not lacking anything. The hope of His Glory through me. I just need to humble myself before Him (accept that I cannot control this, and that He knows best) so that in HIS time he can lift me up. (1 Peter 5:6)

And I don't need to just sit back and be silent. He knows that waiting is not easy for me. He knows that I desperately want the desires of my heart but I am willing to submit to the desires of His heart. So I cry out to him, pour my heart out to him, sometimes I even beg him. Bottom line is that I communicate with Him. I cast all my cares on Him because He cares for me (I Peter 5:7). And if I continue to do that, through it all, I grow closer to Him. Learning what my purpose is and what plan he has for me.

So...waiting...a waste of time...hardly. Turns out, it is a lot of work.

Silence

Service last night was about silence and solitude. These are both things that I struggle with. Even when my body is quiet, my mind is going a million miles a minute. Each time I try to be silent, to be still and hear God's voice, there are so many thoughts, questions, songs, conversations, tasks etc... in my mind just overwhelming me. Sometimes I wonder if that is why I avoid the silence? To avoid all of the "things" in life that overwhelm my mind when I actually have the time to stop long enough to think about them. Other times, I think I avoid the silence because I really struggle with hearing God's voice. Struggle in a way that makes be question what I hear. Is it my thoughts and desires etc...or is it really Him speaking to me? At times I am actually afraid to hear God's voice. It seems silly, it's not like I'm expecting God's wrath or anything, I just wonder if what God has to tell me is what I want to hear. I'm learning to trust that even if I don't want to hear it, I need to hear it. He wants to speak to me, to the depths of my heart and take all those "things" so I am not so overwhelmed. Why is it so hard to let go of all that? I shouldn't be afraid to hear God's voice. I will miss out on the blessings He wants to speak into my life. Lord, give me more moments of silence. Help me discern your voice and hear the things you want to bless me with.

Crisis

I've been thinking about all the times in life that felt like a crisis. There have been so many instances in life that I wondered if I would ever make it through. Sometimes because I'm just way too over dramatic, but most of the time because it was just plain hard. Whatever the circumstance, I remember thinking there is no way I will ever feel better about this. In one instance, my first break-up, I ruined my REM cd (playing "Everybody Hurts" over and over, again and again) and I don't think I came out of my room unless I absolutely had to. I remember thinking at that moment this was the worst possible thing I could've ever experienced.
I can't really remember when it happened, but I did feel better about it. I actually came out of my room and found my smile again. Life continued as it was and things weren't really so bad. Until the next crisis. My response to this one was just like the last, convinced that things would never get better and I would never be happy again. And then it happened, just like before...it kinda snuck up on me really. I was happy again.
I guess I'm thinking about this because those hard times just keep on comin'. Each "crisis" had provided me with a little more strength, has taught me a little bit more about myself, and has brought me closer to God. I still enter into them with the same questions, worries, and fears...but there is something I know, like all the times before...I will get through this. It still takes me awhile to get my emotions in line with my thoughts, to remind myself that God has gotten me through so many other things. What He is teaching me is that, if I want to, I can actually find my smile during the crisis. Why wait?

This is Fun???

Seriously, why didn't somebody tell me that I would feel like I had been hit by a truck after being dragged by a boat on a tube this past Saturday? If somone came and asked me, "hey do you want to strain every muscle in your body while trying to stay on this really small inner tube like thing (which is nearly impossible)? Oh by the way, your face will be pelted by water that actually feels like a thousand needles and each time you hit the water like a rag doll you'll have to try to keep your swim suit bottoms on. And just when your arms are turning to jello you're "friends" will think it's really funny to go faster (in circles) and try even harder to get you in the water. And even though everyone around the whole lake can hear you screaming, those on the boat can't possibly hear you pleading for your life!" I don't think I would've agreed to this. And people call this "fun"?
Call me crazy, but my idea of fun does not involve aching muscles, nausea, or vertigo. I am such a kill joy, I know.

Peace

At bible study last night we were talking about God's will and how it can be so difficult to know what you should do or what it is He wants for you. We continually second guess ourselves or take matters into our own hands because we feel like God is not doing anything...like He's waiting for us to make a move, or figure something out, or make the right decision. We read about God's peace and wonder...where is it? I sure don't feel peace about this or that, about this decision I have to make or about the decision I just made!

My thought is that I find myself often looking for peace about a specific situation, circumstance, or decision. I'm finding that really the peace God offers is found in Him alone, not in our circumstances. His peace is not found in the answer He gives us for that particular situation...it is found in Him. The very fact that He is in control, knows what is going on in our lives, will do what is best for us and has the situation all figured out is where we find His peace. This is how we can have His peace when His answers are not what we expect, because it's not about the situation...it is about HIM. "In Him you will have perfect peace".