Stumbling Required
Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.
Daniel 11:35<o:p></o:p>
Daniel’s vision of end times is filled with intrigue and heartache. Many righteous people will be killed during those days. Even some of the wise will stumble. How they stumble is not told to us, just that they do. What’s interesting is the ‘so that’ of verse 35. They stumble so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless. Could they be refined without the stumbling or is stumbling required?
People who never fail are, first of all, kidding themselves. The image of perfection is just that. They are also missing out on a God-thing! Only God can take the refuse of our failure and turn it into beauty. Only God! Stumbling may be required because 1) everyone stumbles and 2) God can use that pain to refine us into the image of Jesus.
Failure is not fatal, especially in God’s Kingdom.
Here is the blessing of stumbling. When we turn to God in our failure and give Him the freedom to change us, He will! I know that God wants holiness from me, so I do not seek out failure. But when it happens, and it will, I can become more like Jesus if I yield to God’s purifying process.
Hebrews 12:11 says that no discipline is pleasant at the time. This is why many will not yield to God’s purifying process. If we do, however, the result is righteousness and peace! This God-event is evidence that He loves us. If God didn’t care for us, He’d leave us alone in our squalor and we’d never learn.
Thank You, Father, for Your great love for me that You would refine me through those times when I have stumbled badly. Make me more like Jesus is my prayer today!<o:p></o:p>
