Pain to Purpose Devotional - DAY 7
SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 139:23-24
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
Job 31:5-8
5 “If I have walked with falsehood and my foot has hastened to deceit; 6 (Let me be weighed in a just balance, and let God know my integrity!) 7 if my step has turned aside from the way and my heart has gone after my eyes, and if any spot has stuck to my hands, 8 then let me sow, and another eat, and let what grows for me be rooted out.
DEVO:
Every trial we face is allowed into our lives not to shake our faith, but to shape our faith. We can’t choose what kinds of circumstances we face in life, but what we can choose -- and what no one is able to rob from us -- is how we respond to those circumstances. We see in the life of Job that although he had major questions for God as to why he was facing what he was facing, instead of looking outside of himself to blame God or others for his circumstances, he looked inwardly and asked this question: What is this trial revealing to me about my character?
Trials, tragedies, and transitions expose the dark places of our heart. You may have heard of the term “refiner’s fire”, but do you fully understand what it means? It refers to how a silversmith purifies silver. He places the precious metal into a furnace that has been turned up to intense temperatures. The silversmith then sits and watches the process to make sure the temperature is set to exactly what is necessary to accomplish the job. A slight degree too cool would fall short of purifying the silver. A slight degree too hot would permanently injure it. The heat causes the dross and impurities to rise to the top so they can be scraped off. Only when the silversmith sees his own reflection in the silver does he know the silver is finished with its refining process.
In the midst of trials, God invites us into the same process. He patiently looks on as a silversmith would with his silver, watching to ensure the temperature doesn’t vary from His plan. What’s His goal? To transform us more into the image of Jesus. Only when He sees His reflection in us does he pull us out of the trial.
Our mantra, “Nothing is Wasted” doesn’t just refer to God working to repurpose our pain, but also to our own choice not to waste the pain we’re in. We have to make a conscious decision that if God is wanting to teach us more about Him and more about ourselves in the midst of our trials, we will refuse to waste the lessons. Applying yourself in the classroom of pain is the quickest way to move through your trial and on to the next assignment. How long God has you in the trial is only for Him to determine, but the best heart posture to take through the whole journey is the one Job took in Job 31 — one that gives God permission to search your heart and bring to the surface any impurity that may be lying below the surface. And again, we can trust God’s motives in this. Ultimately, the only reason He would want to draw impurities out of us is He knows that those impurities, if left unaddressed, will eventually destroy us. Like a skilled surgeon cutting away at a cancerous tumor, He desires to rid us of anything that would jeopardize a full and healthy existence. I don’t know about you, but I would much rather learn any lessons that God has for me now than to have to repeat that lesson later because I closed my heart off to His work.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND JOURNALING:
In what areas do you recognize your heart growing calloused toward God?
What kinds of lessons do you think God may be trying to teach you in the middle of your valley?
Have you taken the time to stop and consider the areas of your life that need to look more like Jesus? If not, spend some time today in silence and stillness asking God to reveal these areas to you.
PRAYER:
Lord, search my heart. Help me to see where my heart has gone astray or grown calloused and bitter. I invite You to work in my life and heal me. Show me clearly what You want me to learn through this trial, and if I’ve made any missteps give me the wisdom and strength not to repeat them.