To See His Face

For the past six weeks, I have been involved in a Bible Study by Priscilla Shirer titled He Speaks to Me. I have written about this study in a previous post(A Healthy Dose of Perspective) and again find myself wanting to share Priscilla's God-given words of wisdom. This week's study is titled "A Servant Spirit".

"A true servant of God must be willing to surrender to God's plan completely."

This includes a willingness to surrender to the Lord's challenges.

(Priscilla's words in italics) - Trials and challenges are inevitable. We must learn to expect them, submit to them, and learn from them. However, we can rest assured that behind every challenge we can find God. He orchestrates the events of our lives to build us up and bring Himself glory, but that doesn't mean we will always like what He has assigned us to do. We often encounter great challenges as we walk in obedience to God. The greatest challenge of all might just be getting used to the fact that sometimes His assignments are different than the plans we had for ourselves.

We need to keep our eyes focused on eternity, always remembering God is in control.

The family who recently lost a precious baby girl to a chromosomal defect. The woman with young children in the midst of divorce. The husband and wife who have waited for years to be parents, hesitant to hope for fear they will only encounter hurt again. The man who wonders will he ever find a job that makes him fulfilled. Real people with real trials.

Malachi 3:3 refers to God as a silversmith. The refiner desires to bring forth the metal in its truest form. To do this, he places the object in the fire and carefully observes its response to the heat. The silversmith watches the metal, prepared to take it out at just the right moment. Too much heat will damage the precious work.

God is the divine silversmith refining metal to rid it of impurities. When we are burdened, broken, and in need, He reminds us we are not alone. God will not only never leave our side, He watches over us and knows when enough is enough. Do you know how the silversmith knows the refining process is complete? He must be able to clearly see his reflection in the molten metal. We sometimes find ourselves in a place we believe is too difficult. The intense heat seems to be too much to bear, but God is paying close attention. His work will be done and we will be ready when He can see His reflection in us.

Lord, help me be willing to completely surrender to your plan. I pray that through the trials in my life, you will be able to see your reflection in me.