He's still working on me...to make me what I ought to me...

Have you ever been in the situation where you are working diligently on one area of your life that God has convicted you in when,  all of a sudden, another area rears its ugly head? Recently I came to the conclusion that my journey towards spiritual refinement resembles a whack-a-mole game. That's right. You remember the one. Some of you may have heard this analogy from me before. Sometimes it's called Bop-a-Gator as well but the game is the same: You stand before this big box-like machine holding a padded club. The goal - whack the creatures on their heads with fire and fury. Beat the critters down! The trouble? As soon as you conquer one pesky animal, two or three others pop up laughing at you. Mocking you. You try time after time, popping token after token into the belly of the machine only to drop about $15.00 on a game to recieve tickets to buy a dinky toy that would have cost you 1.00 at the dollar general store. The things we do for entertainment eh?

My point is that throughout my walk with God I have gotten frustated from time to time with all the work there is to be done in me. God points out something in my life that is less than beautiful and I strive and struggle to make it better only to have Him point out a new area just when I have the prior one somewhat under control. This cycle can leave a person worn out and discouraged in no time - trust me! Not too long ago I was pondering this whack-a-mole thought and came to a realization: The reason I am so frustrated and discouraged is this: When God reveals something in me that needs to be worked on, I try to do it in my OWN strength. Once I know what needs to be worked on I fail to consult Him on HOW I should go about it, to ask GOD what I should do. You're probably thinking, "Duh!" but how often do we as Christians do this? I am willing to bet more often than not.

In a world that has a "Each man for his own" philosophy, it's easy to try and get by on our own and not ask for help. All the while we have a loving Father who has the power to do anything, if only we would ask. Now, I am not saying that God is like a genie in a bottle that we can just rub and get whatever our little greedy fingers want, but He does know the desires of our heart and all of our needs. Nothing is too big or too small for God. Sometimes the answer is, "yes", sometimes it is, "wait," and sometimes it is, "no," but how will we ever know unless we give Him the opportunity to answer?

My conclusion on this is that there is no way I can do things on my own. Life is hard enough WITH God...I can't imagine not having Him in my life. If you don't know God, if you haven't met His son Jesus Christ, I pray that you will seek answers. I pray that an unquenchable desire to know the truth will come upon you and refuse to let go. To have a relationship with Christ is the most amazing thing in the world. The process of being refined is sometimes a painful one, but necessary if we are going to be comformed to His likeness. I am so glad God is leading me through the refiner's fire because I know that the end result will be glorifying to Him. Praise be to Him forever and ever. Amen.