Renovating Your Life

We are currently renovating our house.

And while I am excited for the end result, at this moment it is like living in a bomb shelter. We have no washing machine, no stove, no sink (we’re doing all our washing in the baby bath), and the entire house is covered in a fine layer of cement dust!

But, I keep telling my wife (and trying to convince myself) that it is all worth it. Once this is over, we will have a lovely new kitchen and beautiful new floors. A place we can be proud of.

Sometimes I think God is a builder. And He loves doing renovations on my character.

Often times it is just a few minor alterations – a bit of plastering here or some electrical rewiring somewhere else. Promptings from God on wrong ways of thinking, or small adjustments in the way I treat others around me. But then there are other times in my life when it seems like He has decided to knock out an entire wall! In my case issues of control that He wants to get rid of, or my incredible propensity for selfishness.

And what I’ve found is that generally this kind of character renovation is a painful and messy experience. In fact, sometimes it feels like things have to get more messy before they get better (my kitchen at the moment for example). But in the end I’ve always found that the final result is worth the pain and I am better off for it!

The Bible calls this “refining”.

It says, “When life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner.” (1 Peter 4:12)

Thankfully, God is always on the job.

And He promises us that He will complete the work He has started: “I will always show you where to go. I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places… You’ll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew, rebuild the foundations from out of your past. You’ll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate…” (Isaiah 58:11-12)