The process of perfection can be a painful one. The Lord is tearing down what doesn’t belong and replacing those things with His own righteousness.
Philippians 1:6 “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”
Try to imagine it like this. Our God is the greatest artist and we are like rough cut marble. In order to shape us into a perfect masterpiece, He must use certain tools. Every blow with His hammer hurts. Every time His chisel breaks a chunk off of us, it can feel like our worlds are falling apart.
He continues with smaller chisels, picks, and sanding. Every part of the process can feel tremendously painful. Through all of it, however, all He is doing is shaping and molding us into His own perfect image.
Another way to think of it is like this. A fruit tree will bear fruit, yes, but in order for it to produce abundantly, the caretaker must do what is necessary. So, pruning is necessary. The Lord prunes us, not to harm us, but to prepare us to produce good fruit. The process can be painful. Every snip and cut, on its surface, seems unnecessarily painful. But as the process continues and time passes, you begin to see the fruits of His labor. Through the pain of pruning, we become more alive than we ever imagined.
The Lord wants us to produce good fruit in abundance. He wants to create a masterpiece. The very same process which produces these things is the very same process from which we run. The pain seems unbearable, unnecessary, and fruitless. Trust the process. It won’t happen overnight, but it WILL happen.
Slowly but surely, the Lord is shaping you into what you were always meant to be. He is making sure that you are capable of bearing everything the enemy throws your way. With His meekness and grace flowing through you, you become stronger, healthier, and more capable than you had ever imagined.
Through it all, trust in Him. For He will never leave you, nor forsake you.
Hebrews 13:5 “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
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