Under Construction

This past weekend, the church I attend had their annual woman's retreat and while I did not go, some of the girls from my community group went and shared a little of what God revealed to them over the weekend. A friend shared about how she realized that God takes pleasure in refining us to make us look more and more like Him. That too Him it's exciting & not a hassle or a disappointment to have to be continually scooping off all that dross as with every scoop He is able to see a little more of His reflection in us which is an impressive & miraculous thought since all this takes place on this side of heaven in the midst of sin & rebellion.

John Piper makes an interesting point that God is specifically compared to a refiner's fire and not, say..... a forrest fire or an incinerator's fire; for a forrest fire destroys indiscriminantly and an incinerator consumes EVERYTHING. But a refiner's fire is specific and methodical. The purpose of the refiner's fire is to purify and burn away anything that takes away from it's value; leaving the silver or gold in much better condition. Ultimately as believers the goal of refinement is to become more and more like Christ. The Scriptures tell us some of the specific benefits of being refined. Romans 5:3-4 tells us that refinement prouduces endurance/perserverance, which in turn produces character and that character results in hope which will never disappoint or put us to shame. James 1:1-4 declares that refinement produces perserverance and that perserverance works to make the believer mature, complete and lacking in nothing. All this to say that while the furnance of the refiner is grueling and brutal, the results are of eternal value and should be embraced. Our God is one who redeems & refines in the midst of brokeness, creating beautiful things from the dust and creating beautiful things out of us.

Today I was working on homework and listening to pandora and a song called "Change in the Making" by Addison Road came on. *Shameless plug: Addison Road is an awesome band with powerful & honest lyrics & you should definitely check them out!* The lyrics to this song are part of what inspired this post so enjoy!

There's a better version of me
That I can't quite see
But things are gonna change
But right now I'm a total mess and
Right now I'm completely incomplete
But things are gonna change
'Cause you're not through with me yet


>Chorus:

This is a redemption story
With every step that I'm taking
Everyday you're chipping away
What I don't need
This is me under construction
This is my pride being broken
And everyday I'm closer to who I'm meant to be
I'm a change in the making

Wish I could live more patiently
Wish I could give a little more of me
Without stopping to think twice
Wish I had faith like a little child
Wish I could walk a single mile
Without tripping on my own feet

Chorus

From the dawn of history
You make new and you redeem
From a broken world to a broken heart
You finish what you start in everything
Like a river rolls into the sea
We're not who we're going to be
But things are going to change


Chorus

I'm a change in the making
I'm not who I'm going to be
I'm moving closer to your
glory