"There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world." 1 Peter 1:6-7
Hamish is my first dog. When I first got him, cutting his nails was a challenge to both of us.
He hates going through it, and caused a huge fuss. Eventually after months, he calmed down as he began to trust me and for a couple of years haven’t had any real problems. He still will fuss but I bathe him immediately beforehand to soften the nails. I don’t know what happened recently but we have gone way back to the beginning. I haven’t drawn blood but it was a battle of wills and I can’t say who won!
His nails were quite long and if I don’t do it, they will splinter and cause more pain or they will begin to grow inwards and hurt his paw.
To get gold pure, the dross has to be gotten rid of and this is accomplished by it going through fire. Sometimes the trials we go through feels exactly like going through fire – it’s hard, we would do anything for it to stop and we may feel like we won’t make it.
But like the three men in the bible who were thrown into the furnace, (Daniel 3) as Christians when we have faith in God we are not alone going through the fire. When we trust God, others like the King in Daniel, can look at us going through the trial and see God with us in the fire.
Like Hamish getting his nails cut, we don’t enjoy it at the time. But if we aren’t being refined, like those nails, things in our life will begin to hurt us. God isn’t doing it because He is mean or is bored! God sees the inner pure gold in you and wants to get rid of things that are dead, aren’t helpful or pure dross. (1 Peter 1:7, John 15:2, Romans 5:1-5)
We beautify ourselves on the outside sometimes going through pain (plucking eyebrows, waxing, painful feet being in high heeled shoes, the list goes on) all in an attempt to try and look good. When we stop and think about it, what good does it really do? God is doing that on the ‘inside’ of us but the difference is it actually means something and oh it is so worth it.
Let us not be like Hamish who ‘fights’ while going through it as it just makes it harder and longer in the end. Unlike Hamish we have someone who knows exactly what He is doing – God the expert nail cutter or pruner there is. So we can trust Him.
Hamish is my first dog. When I first got him, cutting his nails was a challenge to both of us.
He hates going through it, and caused a huge fuss. Eventually after months, he calmed down as he began to trust me and for a couple of years haven’t had any real problems. He still will fuss but I bathe him immediately beforehand to soften the nails. I don’t know what happened recently but we have gone way back to the beginning. I haven’t drawn blood but it was a battle of wills and I can’t say who won!
His nails were quite long and if I don’t do it, they will splinter and cause more pain or they will begin to grow inwards and hurt his paw.
To get gold pure, the dross has to be gotten rid of and this is accomplished by it going through fire. Sometimes the trials we go through feels exactly like going through fire – it’s hard, we would do anything for it to stop and we may feel like we won’t make it.
But like the three men in the bible who were thrown into the furnace, (Daniel 3) as Christians when we have faith in God we are not alone going through the fire. When we trust God, others like the King in Daniel, can look at us going through the trial and see God with us in the fire.
Like Hamish getting his nails cut, we don’t enjoy it at the time. But if we aren’t being refined, like those nails, things in our life will begin to hurt us. God isn’t doing it because He is mean or is bored! God sees the inner pure gold in you and wants to get rid of things that are dead, aren’t helpful or pure dross. (1 Peter 1:7, John 15:2, Romans 5:1-5)
We beautify ourselves on the outside sometimes going through pain (plucking eyebrows, waxing, painful feet being in high heeled shoes, the list goes on) all in an attempt to try and look good. When we stop and think about it, what good does it really do? God is doing that on the ‘inside’ of us but the difference is it actually means something and oh it is so worth it.
Let us not be like Hamish who ‘fights’ while going through it as it just makes it harder and longer in the end. Unlike Hamish we have someone who knows exactly what He is doing – God the expert nail cutter or pruner there is. So we can trust Him.
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