Tiny, Hot Pieces Of Metal

This week on the job, I had to drill some holes in a metal panel. No big deal except it was over my head. Still it wasn't all that big of a deal until the tiny, hot pieces of metal started falling on my flesh. Now I don't do a lot of manual labor type work, I'm more of an office guy, but I've used a drill many times over the course of my life. I just don't ever recall drilling into metal over my head. Of course I knew the friction of drilling caused heat, but I never imagined that those little tiny pieces of metal would be so hot. So, there I am, metal hitting my face, my hands, my arms and going down my shirt, each one of them a couple thousand degrees. Ok, maybe not quite that hot, but trust me, they were a bit hotter than a hot summer day in southeast Texas.

Even though it stung a bit when each one hit, I just kept the finger on the throttle because there were holes that had to be drilled. Sure, I could have stopped, but then the whole job would have come grinding to a stop. The tiny, hot pieces of metal weren't life threatening, they were just a nuisance. A part of the process. Without them, there's no way to get the job done.

Sounds a bit like how God works in our lives. There's a place God wants us to get, but getting there will require a little bit of friction. We'll have to open up ourselves and allow him to work on areas that will be a little uncomfortable. You know those areas in our character, or those habits, or those addictions that we really don't want anyone touching. Sure, it can be a little inconvenient, irritating, or even painful at times. Nobody likes it, but its all a part of the process. Sure, you can refuse to allow him to work, but that will only bring everything to a grinding halt. You'll spend your life never developing into the person that God desires for you to be. Oh, but when we yield ourselves to his "Holy Spirit drill", He begins to do an awesome work in our life. Those parts of us that don't belong, he chips them away. And slowly but surely we become a little more like him, developing into the man or woman he designed us to be.

Yes, I survived those tiny, hot pieces of metal and with those holes drilled we became a step closer to the job getting done. Trust me, you'll survive the working of the Holy Spirit in your life and with each thing he does, He'll be a step closer to getting the job done.