Lately I have been asking God to bring me to a place of true brokenness. Where I can be useful, pliable and teachable. My wife and I went on a vacation to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary and I figured during that time perhaps I would hear from God about what it is he wants us to do and what it means to be broken and humble. Well the time in the mountains went quickly and there were a few “God” moments but nothing over this area that I have been praying about. And then…
I came home and the stress of living in Washington with its traffic and the demands of my Job came rushing back at me full force and a bit over whelming. I simply could not understand why I was having to deal with this stuff, why I was having to live and work in this situation, and not hearing from God was making me a little nuts over the situation. A few days passed and I was praying with some other guys for our church and revival, asking God to move in our city and county but beginning with us (me).
God spoke.
The Holy Ghost made this clear to me. We are all like grapes, little individual pieces of fruit, Saved sealed and part of the family of God, but grapes when harvested are broken, crushed and pressed down to transform them into the fruit of “new wine”. I am not saying that we have to find the “god in us” or that we become part of some “cosmic consciousness” but the old man is transformed, translated, changed into the likeness of Jesus. This is the activity of sanctification, in the end we are glorified!!
Its those trials of dealing with our normal world that God is actively transforming us from the individual image of ourselves to the image and likeness of his Son Jesus. He slowly and lovingly adds pressure and weight to crush us, to break us, to transform us. So the next time you have a situation that you just don’t understand or feel like your going to die, that’s just what you need to do. Die to yourself and let God transform you and the situation. Not that I have arrived but its his good pleasure and the work that he has begun will be completed! Grace and Peace
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Jam&c=1&v=2&t=NKJV#comm/2