A week ago, we were hiking in Arches National Park. It's beautiful place, with miles and miles of sandstone formations sculpted by years of wind and rain. We didn't experience any rain, but we did get stung by the blowing sand. The rain comes in seasonal downpours and radically changes the landscape.

Here's a quick analogy:

• God sculpts and shapes us to be more and more like Christ.
• It's a long, ongoing process.
• To us, it may seem random and without a purpose but He has a plan.
• Sometimes it really stings. (Sometimes others get stung while He works on us.)
• In the right season, downpours come and reorder our lives.
• The results are a beautiful testimony to God's care and attention.

Unlike the sandstone, we have the ability to resist God's work in our lives. We rebel, and interfere, hindering the process, making it take even longer. Thankfully God keeps at it, determined to finish the job, just as He promised. (He who has begun a good work in you will complete it… Phil 1:6)