Deep Cuts

These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith- of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire- may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 1 Peter 1:7 NIV.

Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You have killed my father. Prepare to die. The Princess Bride is a great movie! Inigo got cut when he saw his father die. It took him on a path to revenge. When he beat the murderer, they offered him anything he wanted. Montoya only wanted his father back. We cheered him on, even though the solution was wrong. Revenge kept him enslaved for years.

We can call it what we want. Deep cuts, refiners fire, or taking out the garbage. It is great when Jesus removes the messes.

I always get excited when I see this taking place in others. The Lord spoke to the prayer group I attend. He wants to do deep cuts in the disciples there.

That is why the Lord prompted me to write this devotional. To bring out messes. They could be religiosity, attitudes, offenses, or other bondages. I pray daily we all become less of a mess as we read through it.

Our walks with Jesus get good. Then there will be times of trial. He needs to cut out messes so we can be more like Him. I love this verse because God sees us as gold. It looks dirty, not shiny, when pulled from the ground. Then fire refines it. The heat brings all the base metals to the surface. Then He takes the dross and skims the junk off. This makes the karats higher. The gold is shinier. The verse's start is painful. But the result is praise, glory, and honor with Jesus. We shine more like Him.

When we surrender messes, He removes them. The Lord desires deep cuts in our lives. To remove the yuck and replace it with Him. Are we willing?

Thank You for removing our messes, Lord. We ask that You continue to cut the junk out of our lives. Make us more like You and less like us. In Jesus’ name, amen.