Nougat 11

Before getting to the nougat I invite you, wherever you are, to remember the people of St Vincent and the Grenadines as they face the eruption of Soufriére. Let us ask God’s mercy on their behalf.

A few days ago, we looked at our being probed by God and the example I used actually pointed to a dental exam. In today’s Holy Nougat, we continue to reflect on the invitation for God to perfect us for God’s glory.

“Probe me, ADONAI, and test me, refine my mind and my heart.” Psalms‬ ‭26:2‬ ‭TLV‬‬

As we seek to grow from strength to strength in the Lord, it becomes especially important for us to be yielded to God’s Spirit. Romans 3; Psalms 14 and 53 all make reference to the fact that not one of us is righteous on our own strength. That is one reason why we need to be probed – to find the source of sins that often beset us.

The thing is, many of our current actions and behaviors are the continuation of patterns developed in our formative year. In other words, our past experiences and responses serve as building blocks (both positively and negatively) for our future actions. For some of us, we even process situations through our prior experiences. This is not always conscious, hence the probing. But having been probed and examined; the next bit is refining.

In our current state, we are not worthy to be in God’s presence; yet God still desires to sustain a relationship with us. For the relationship to be maintained, something has to shift. In Jesus, God has already shifted, so the next shift has to be us. And that is where the refining process comes in.

Refining is a process of taking something from its natural state to a point of purity by removing undesirable elements. This basically involves separating via sifting, distilling, washing, fractionation, melting and other chemical reactions. Just as the process varies in the natural realm, so too is it in our relationship with God. When we consider the layers that often cover over our prior experiences and actions, it becomes important that God processes us so that the undesirable elements can be removed.

A quick reminder, even if it is washing or sifting, refining is not always a ‘fun’ process for that which is under process. It is therefore upon us to choose whether we wish to be refined. I pray that we will choose God’s refining for our hearts and minds.

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May all we seek be found in Christ