He Does Quality Work

If I were to rewrite the dictionary, I would eliminate the word ‘growth’ and substitute it with ‘pain’.

Just sayin’.

God never promised an easy life; on the contrary, He tells us in His Word, “In this world, you will have trouble…”. But the next part of this verse gives me all I need to keep going: it says, “…but take heart, because I have overcome the world.” Those weeks and months when I plead with God to stop what He’s doing because I don’t think I can take any more pressure have a purpose; to make me like Him. In fact, He shows us through His creation how beautiful things come out of intense pressure and heat: diamonds are formed over long periods of time with intense pressure; pearls are formed by an irritating piece of sand lodged in a mollusk’s shell; metals only have the highest quality after being heated to a high temperature and having their impurities skimmed off the surface; and the list goes on. The highest quality things only come with at least one of these ingredients: heat, pressure, and time. Will I let the pressure crack me, or will I let Him make me stronger and more refined through it? It all depends on my source of strength during that time. God knows exactly how much of those three ingredients I need, and He won’t give me more or less.

Since this post is about growth, I couldn’t resist adding something about gardening. I have been ‘in charge’ of my family’s vegetable garden for several years now, and one thing I have observed is how the first crops to ripen are usually the first to wither away in the summer heat, while the vegetables I have to wait longer for are the ones that last longer. For example, lettuce is one of the first crops to mature, but is also the first thing to die off; but vegetables such as carrots onions and carrots are the last things I harvest, and I can store them for months in the proper conditions so they won’t spoil. God wants to do work in me that will have a long term effect, but I’m going to have to be patient and wait on Him for it. He doesn’t always work in a way that makes me happy, but that is not His goal; He works to conform he to His image.