know yourself: zechariah

  ZECHARIAH 13:7-9 

“Arise, sword, against my shepherd,
 against the man who is my friend,” declares theLord of Armies.
  “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.
  Then I will turn my hand against the little ones.”

The Lord declares,

“Throughout the land two-thirds will be cut off and die.

Yet, one-third will be left in it.

 I will bring this third of the people through the fire.
 I will refine them as silver is refined.
 I will test them as gold is tested.
They will call on me, and I will answer them.
 I will say, ‘They are my people.’
They will reply, ‘The Lord is our God.’”

The grass is always greener in the neighbor's yard. Why does it seem like you have, 'blah' or even miserable life and everyone else's is so great? Life isn't always fair, at least not to the human eye. But remember, in order for gold to be purified and refined, it has to be heated to extreme temperatures. All the dross, or bad stuff, is then lifted to the top so that it can be skimmed off as the heat rises. it's next to impossible to find your own dross when life is good. But when troubles hit and heat goes up, then your dirty parts are easier to see. And that's when you can start to scrape off all that junk once and for all. As you are refined by the trials of your life, you start to turn to the one who can save you, the one you need more than anything or anyone else, and your life is cleansed and made new. So don't fear the fire. Don't worry when life goes wrong,but look to Jesus and see what he wants removed. When your focus is on improvement and purification instead of worldly questions+worries,your ability to rise above and even overcome adversity grows. No trial is a waste of time when your focus is on pleasing God instead of yourself. When you see suffering as Gods tool for your sanctification, it suddenly doesn't control you or scare you. The goal of the God girl is humility, thankfulness, and praise, and when your practice those things in your life, the power your trials used to have is gone.

God Girl devo: know yourself 

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I read this for my devotions the other day and it really stuck out. The sin can be ''skinmmed'' off. When life seems to be going well you see nothing wrong... and then when a storm in life hits, you see everything and maybe... blame God? It can be skimmed off and you can be forgiven!

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