Things I'm Learning

Its been some time since I've dusted off my blog-spot to post anything new. To be honest it's been rather intentional, because I've felt rather embarrassed by some of my past postings. When you are under pressure and people hurt you its easy to fly off the handle and use something like this as a mechanism to vent all your frustrations with people, the church, and quite frankly the world.  However, I'm learning that its better to hold back some things if I'm angry.

Fools vent their anger,
      but the wise quietly hold it back.

-Proverbs 29:11

I feel that I'm about to use some examples that may be considered cliche, but I believe them to be relevant. A piece of plain coal is only formed into a diamond under immense pressure. And gold is only purified through extreme fire and heat. Anything considered precious and rare is only considered that because it first endured an incredibly long and hard transformation. 

  'I will refine them like silver
   and test them like gold.
They will call on my name
   and I will answer them;
I will say, ‘They are my people,’
   and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.'

Zechariah 13:9

This process is hard. It hurts, it stings, and it burns. And yet for every trial and hardship He is teaching me that His grace is sufficient for me. And I'm learning that I can do nothing on my own volition. I'm completely dependent upon Him. For me when all is said and done I'm left with the choice to learn from the past, but not to dwell on it. And to allow God's Holy Spirit to heal me and teach me to forgive. This is the process. This is the reformation.