Remember when the Hebrews were complaining to Moses in the desert because he had yanked them out of paradise in Egypt? They were reminiscing about the good old days sitting around the fire, eating pots of meat and leeks and fish. Good times. Good times. What about the fact that they were slaves?!? Their very lives belonged to someone else who mistreated them. But in retrospect, they wanted to relive the experience differently so they remembered it fondly.
We're not so different, are we?
When God wants to get rid of something in our lives, or change our circumstances to reveal Himself and refine our character, the process is often painful. But we are better because of it.
Yesterday was as bad as I thought it would be, having my tooth pulled. Even with all the shots of whatever they used to numb me (They had to pull out the big guns for me since it kept wearing off. That was my favorite part...),the headphones and TV to distract me, and the compassionate staff at the dentist's office, the two hours I spent having that @#$@ tooth taken out in pieces was not pleasant. And I can't believe Dr. Yang enjoyed it any more than I did.
But after a day of hydrocodone and rest, I'm feeling the healing process already beginning.
Bottom line, this tooth was bad news and had to come out. And Dr. Yang was just the man for the job. He and his assistant were kind, caring, competent and always present. Kind of like God is when he takes us through something hard that's ultimately good for us, huh? He doesn't make us go through it alone. Heck, sometimes He doesn't make us do anything at all - just hang on for dear life while He does all the work.
That's what transformation is all about.
And I'd much rather have radical work done in my life to change me completely than do stop-gap behavior modification and live with the same old crap all the time. Wouldn't you?
Come, Sovereign LORD, and do your work in me. Refine me. Heal me. Change me.
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