A Striking Thought

Hebrews 12 is one of my favorite passages in the Bible (Hebrews 12:12-13 have been my life verses for years).  The language of unpleasant discipline is really close to my heart during this phase of life.  Instead of something to be avoided, can I rejoice in the fact that discipline is conforming me to the form God requires me to be?

When I read this passage, I pictured myself as a lump of poor quality iron.  The potential for utility is there; as a master craftsman God can see it.  But the only way to work the impurities out of the ore is with heat and repeated painful blows.  If the heat never comes, the metal can't be worked.  If the blows never fall, the impurities remain and the metal is weak and useless.

As the impurities are worked out and the metal is purified, it can be shaped into a form that is useful to the maker.  Only then can it become what its crafter intends.  In my own life, I want to fast forward to the 'being useful' part and skip over the 'being crafted' part.

God, please continue to work on my heart.  Conform me to the shape you require of me.  Help me to rejoice in the painful discipline you have before me.  Give me the eyes to see the peaceful fruit of righteousness that has been promised.

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