Cleansing
…when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning. – Isaiah 4:4
There are aspects of my life I do not like thinking about. I can be pretty dark sometimes. I can think the worst of things. Reading the prophets brings this to the forefront of my mind. I read about the washing away of filth and I cannot help but think about the filth I see around me.
I look at the filth of politics. There is no one pure, I want someone pure. I want someone to lead with integrity. Alas, there is none to be found. I look at the church. I want people to walk in alignment with God. I want people to see the whole picture, not just the partial picture. I want integrity. In my dark moments, I think there is little hope. I look at my own life. I see the hypocrisy of some of my actions. I want to do right but find myself doing wrong. The problem is my hypocrisy is often complicated by the fact that I know what I should do.
I feel little hope, then I read about God’s judgment. Truthfully, I have feared His judgment and for good reason. It is never pretty. There is always destruction. But if we read closely, we begin to see that God’s judgment destroys only what is false. The cleansing removes the dirt from the pure object.
When God begins to bring about tough times in your life, take a minute to see if God might be burning off an impurity. He might be removing an idol from a high place in your life. These changes are often difficult but bring about the true peace of life with Him.
Think about your life. What idols has God been removing from your life? How do you feel when God begins to reveal something that needs to change in your life? How do you respond to God’s work in your life?
There are aspects of my life I do not like thinking about. I can be pretty dark sometimes. I can think the worst of things. Reading the prophets brings this to the forefront of my mind. I read about the washing away of filth and I cannot help but think about the filth I see around me.
I look at the filth of politics. There is no one pure, I want someone pure. I want someone to lead with integrity. Alas, there is none to be found. I look at the church. I want people to walk in alignment with God. I want people to see the whole picture, not just the partial picture. I want integrity. In my dark moments, I think there is little hope. I look at my own life. I see the hypocrisy of some of my actions. I want to do right but find myself doing wrong. The problem is my hypocrisy is often complicated by the fact that I know what I should do.
I feel little hope, then I read about God’s judgment. Truthfully, I have feared His judgment and for good reason. It is never pretty. There is always destruction. But if we read closely, we begin to see that God’s judgment destroys only what is false. The cleansing removes the dirt from the pure object.
When God begins to bring about tough times in your life, take a minute to see if God might be burning off an impurity. He might be removing an idol from a high place in your life. These changes are often difficult but bring about the true peace of life with Him.
Think about your life. What idols has God been removing from your life? How do you feel when God begins to reveal something that needs to change in your life? How do you respond to God’s work in your life?
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