God's Workmanship

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” -Ephesians 2:10

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You are so often disillusioned by the terrifying heat in your life. You feel so heated inside by struggles and hurdles that, let's face it, make you melt. You don't understand. All you see before you is fire, and you become intensely aware of the ripping and tearing inside yourself, and you start to lose confidence and sink. You question if your Creator is really strengthening you or even cares about you. The heat rises to excruciating temperatures as the flames devour you. You cannot see an escape.

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He has turned on the furnace. As he gently places the impure gold in the burning flames. He prepares His tools to purify the precious metal. The gold begins to melt, sinking to the bottom of the pot as the impurities separate and rise to the top. He removes the sludge from the gold, purifying and strengthening it. He carefully raises the temperature until the gold reflects his face, and he lifts the now purified gold out of the fire to cool.

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In the corner of a shadow, she clutches her face in her hands. She's crying. She's confused; she feels utterly abandoned. The things she is going through don't make sense; her life seems to be falling apart. She cries out, "Why, God, why?" And a whisper brushes by her heart. She is calmed, for she knows that He knows the way she takes, and that when she is tried, she shall come forth as gold.

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"But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." Job 23:10

p.s.- reread the top and bottom paragraphs, keeping the last verse in your mind. Since we are God's workmanship, He is going to work on us. In the end, God will be able to see his reflection perfectly in us. But until that wonderful day in glory, let us strive to be mold-able and trust that the Goldsmith knows what He's doing!