Chiseling

The other day I read that trials are God chiseling away the parts He wants to remove from our lives. That image has stuck with me, and this morning it formed into a blog.

I was thinking this morning about how I respond to the chiseling. If you know me you know, I respond to pain by talking, musing, writing, even obsessing about it. I examine it from every angle. I worry over what I did wrong to cause it. I wonder, "If I had only done this differently." All of a sudden it occurred to me... it must be incredibly difficult to chisel a hunk of rock, marble, whatever I am that is constantly in motion.

I realized that the best posture for chiseling is a stationary one. If I would just be still, God's chisel would take exactly what He is aiming to remove. I wondered how often do I flinch, or try to run away, or even just shudder a little, causing the chisel to dig a little deeper. I wonder if some of the pain of going through trials isn't self-inflicted. Worrying about how this will affect my future.... will I be on the streets cuz I can't pay the bills.... how will I live without that person in my life... I bring a lot of the suffering on myself by trying to pick up burdens I have no business carrying.

So as I approach the mountain of basic training in front of me (and as I glance back on the broken relationship behind... even as I look around at the finicaial struggles that are my constant reality) I want to work harder to be still. I want to remain as stationary as possible soaking up every ounce of the lessons God has for me in each season so He can chisel me into a better replica of Himself.

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
Romans 8:18