November 14, 2022

Scarlett Kiowski
“I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty. But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap."
Malachi 3:1-2

Recently, God showed me a few things in my life that I needed to work on. Usually, I’m pretty responsive to His conviction, and truly desire to do the work it takes to be more like Christ. But for whatever reason, this time, I threw a fit. “Seriously, how could I have even more junk to work on? I’m fine the way that I am. I’ve already done so much work to be more like Jesus. I’m tired. Why, can’t it be someone else’s turn?” I was at a roadblock; do I dismiss God’s conviction, and continue to sin and hurt those around me, or do I press through and continue to allow myself to be purified by God? Everything inside of me wanted to pass Go, collect my money, and pretend like it never happened. But unfortunately, we can’t be selective in what we allow God to purify us in. He wants all of us so that we can be healthy and whole — complete in His eyes.

After a few days of wrestling, I reminded myself that it is worth it and that my part is simply listening, yielding, and obeying. It’s God’s power within me that does the rest.

I’m thankful for a God that loves me enough to walk me through the purification process…a God that isn’t satisfied with mediocrity. He knows that the more I look like Him, the better off I am. In the end, I made the right decision. I gave God permission to continue His work in me and for that I’m grateful.