Let me tell you, for me to have been born and raised in the country, I am weak in so many areas of being able to fully live that country life. Don’t get me wrong – I contemplate working on an entirely new wardrobe, with Little House on the Prairie as the inspiration for it all. Sadly, I’m still pending knowing how to mow the lawn, plant veggies, or hang a bird’s nest (honestly, the latter is nowhere on my list, but it sounds good because my daughter has plans for one, LOL). Needless to say, there are days where I will tackle small jobs for our lawn. To answer your question, yes, most in in small feats.

Like today, I gave the girls their portion, which was to spread some grub granules over the lawn, while I doused the grass with a spray aimed at killing off the grass that breeds sandspurs. That portion will no doubt end up with its own blog one day because they’re some pesky intruders, but I digress. As you’d imagine, even after wearing gloves, we all needed a good shower. But first, dishes.

I enjoy playing music while cleaning and it just so happened that “Refiner” came on as began to finish up the last of the counter areas. I’ll be quick to stop cleaning so that I can worship God in spirit and truth, through and through, with songs of praise. It was during this song that God showed me the comparison of clean hands – and the difference between the one who cleans them.

There’s a portion in the song where they ask God to clean their hands and purify their hearts and I thought to myself, isn’t that something? In reality, the flesh of my hands are clean, but it’s not the cleanliness God provides. I’ve washed the dishes, cleansed my hands over and over, and will soon be off to shower, but none of that will provide the purity that comes from God washing me clean. The lyrics to this song really asks God to do something that’s wonderful, but oh so painful. When we ask God to come into our lives, clean us up, and purify our hearts, we must be mindful that this type of closeness also comes by way of fire (trials and tribulations). It comes with stripping us of things, behaviors, and people – things that we believe we can’t do without.

As you listen to the lyrics of this song, ask God to prepare you for the purification process. It’s not a ‘one and done’ type thing. You may not be going through much of anything right now, so this is the perfect time to sing this song and sing it loud. Read what scripture tells us about how much God loves us before, during, and after this process. Then, when you’ve witnessed and re-witnessed His faithfulness, you’ll be able to testify to someone else why you loved Him, before, during, and after the process.

READ: Zechariah 13:7-9; 1 Peter 1:5/5:10

LISTEN: “Refiner” by Maverick City (featuring Chandler Moore and Steffany Gretzinger) https://youtu.be/3RPOIXtWrhk