Still Being Transformed

It is truly amazing how just when we think that God is not doing much He has a way to reveal to us quite the opposite. We have been back in Michigan for ten months months. We spent three months in Fremont with my Grandma Behr and Aunt Sara. In that time I have been searching for a ministry position that would be the right fit. I had a few bites but nothing that really panned out. We found it very difficult to find any work for Rachel or myself over that period of time. I definitely had moment when I felt like I had failed God, and failed my wife. I thought, okay God I am trying to be faithful to what you are calling me to do but with no results. That is when I was reminded of a very powerful verse in my life. In His Heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. Proverbs 16:9 Over the course of the summer I believe that God began a new process of molding us and preparing us for what He wants us to do in the course of our ministry. For a long time I waited to get too involved in any churches too deeply because I was sure that God was going to place me where He wanted me. So in my heart I was trying to plan the course that God is still determining for our life. Then after about a month of job searching God providing for me a job at Duhnam's Sports in Fremont. It paid minimum wage and the hours were scarce. However God provided food for our table. That job held us over a little bit as we continued to look for work. Still in my mind I kept wondering what on earth God was waiting for with a church. At this point Rachel and I started studying the fruit of the Spirit together and I started to wonder how am I living out these fruits in my life right now. The Fruit of the Spirit are found in Galatians. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,kindness, goodness,faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Galatians 5:22-23 It was when I started to realize that I was not living much of any of these out because I was so focused on what was not going on. I neglected to let Jesus love me in the moment. Well, He probably was loving on us but I was too self absorbed in my own self pity to receive it. It was through this study that God started to open my eyes to the way God was transforming us. Little did I know that He was just beginning His work in us. Since our experiences over the summer the Lord has relocated us back to my home town of Grand Rapids where even more molding had taken place. I love the picture of the refiners fire because it always reminds me of the time I watched a guy take molting glass which looked like a big blob of goo as he put it through the fires. Through this process he shaped it into these beautiful lamp tops. It makes me think that that is how God works in us. Being molded hurts and we have to be put into the fire so we remain pliable in His hands. Then as God pulls us out of the fire He molds and shapes us into the the beautiful creations He designed us to be. In my case He uses a freezer at about -11 degrees below zero. The idea is the same though as we learn to be content with where God has us at the moment and we give Him praise whether we feel joyful or not; knowing that God is using each moment, each step, and each experience Rachel and I face together as a married couple and as followers of Christ to become the people He has created us to be. So as we all face different challenges and battles in our lives, keep in mind that God is molding us and revealing to each of us piece by piece; our part in God's story. May you allow God to transform you in His hands as you journey with Christ.