Why is it important to refine our faith? Perhaps a better place to start is this:
~What does your faith mean to you?
~Why is faith important in your life?
~Who is God to you?
~Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus?
If you don't have answers to all of these questions, that is okay. My hope is to lead you in recognizing truth by not only knowing Scripture but living it out every single day. Our faith and hope are strengthened when we are grounded in the Word of God. Let's build a solid foundation together that is strengthened through the refining process.
David was a devoted servant of the Lord. He made plenty of mistakes and sinned greatly, but His heart was always in the right place. No matter His mess-ups, David had the greatest reverence for God. The depth of David's love is felt through his words.
1 Listen, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. 2 Protect my life, for I am faithful. You are my God; save your servant who trusts in you. 3 Be gracious to me, Lord, for I call to you all day long. 4 Bring joy to your servant’s life because I appeal to you, Lord.
5 For you, Lord, are kind and ready to forgive, abounding in faithful love to all who call on you. 6 Lord, hear my prayer; listen to my cries for mercy. 7 I call on you in the day of my distress, for you will answer me.
8 Lord, there is no one like you among the gods, and there are no works like yours. 9 All the nations you have made will come and bow down before you, Lord, and will honor your name. 10 For you are great and perform wonders; you alone are God. Psalm 86:1-10
David is such a wise example. We can take a page from his faithfulness. The truth is if we know God's ways and have experienced His presence, we know that the Lord is faithful to those who follow Him. Whether you are a new believer or a faithful follower like David, God will meet you wherever you are. No matter where we are in our faith walk, we can come to God and ask Him to increase our awareness of Him in our lives.
When our hearts stay set on Him, we leave less and less room to be consumed by our natural sinful nature. We can discern and divide out what is not from God. With the development of fear or respect comes a more natural path to obedience. It may not always be the easy path, but when our hearts are filled with His faithfulness, we don't need to fill them with what may hurt us in the long run.
There is no question where David's heart lies. His heart is certainly not divided. Can you say the same for yours?
*Refined definitions sourced from Oxford languages