Refined by Fire: Fueled by Faith

WAKE UP!!! Have you ever had one of those moments? Over the past several weeks, God has gotten my attention in a way that was uncomfortable and difficult, but he took me through that refining fire only to make me stronger and more like Himself.

The Friday following my wake-up call I read over the upcoming Sunday school lesson. The title of the lesson made me inwardly chuckle and say, "Okay, God. I get it!" The title: "Choosing Repentance: What Happens When You Stumble?" The lesson explanation included this statement: "God's grace includes the promise that when we genuinely repent of our sins - when we grieve over what we've done and do a 180 degree turn back toward truth - we can return to a restored relationship with Him" (Collegiate Magazine: Winter 2011/12 page 48). 180 degree turn . . . sound familiar?

The title of our adoption project is 180 Degrees: Turning Lives Around Through Adoption.  When we first made this blog, our project title was intended to show how adoption can turn around the lives of adoptees. The conclusion of our first adoption showed us that God was using the adoption process to turn our lives around, too. Reading the above statement about God's grace and our repentance reminded me once again that God is turning our hearts back to him through means of a refining fire.

God uses times of waiting as a refining fire. Fires can be furious and destructive, yet they can also be fulfilling and warm. Have you ever sat around a warm campfire on a cold, fall evening? We are in a cold season of waiting, but God has a fire blazing all around us to fulfill and comfort us. Not only are we surrounded by a fire, we are IN the fire. This reminds me so much of Daniel's three friends from the Bible. They were placed in a firey furnace to face destruction, yet God walked with them through the fire and brought them out alive and refined, fueled by faith!

God has certainly used our time of waiting as a refining fire to fuel our faith. We have learned so much about ourselves, each other, those around us, and God throughout this process. I am thankful today for God's redeeming love and grace . . . his fire and rain.