Ecclesiastes 3:11, He has made everything beautiful in His time.

This weekend I am speaking at a conference entitled “Beauty Hurts”. Have you ever heard the saying “it’s painful to be beautiful”? Beyoncé said in her song “Flawless”, “I woke up like this”. Ladies, yes we are beautiful, but let’s be real, we don’t just roll out of bed looking like our Facebook and Instagram profile picture.   It’s a process – hair, makeup, nails, fashionable clothes, some of us even go as far as plastic surgery. America is consumed with beauty and most women are image driven using filters and airbrushing photos to portray that perfect image.

Today a lot of women are forsaking the perm and going natural, but give me a perm any day. But the thing about getting a perm for me is every time I get one I can’t leave it in long because I start burning right away, thank God I got fine hair and it doesn’t require much processing. Many of us are like my fine hair in the spirit, we can’t stand up under the process long, we say “God have your way”, “use me Lord”, and when He begins to process us for use and we begin to burn we do everything we can to get out of the process because we want to stop the burning.

The burning is refining you; it’s removing all the impurities that you didn’t know where there that were hiding beneath the surface and waiting for just the right moment to resurface. See some stuff isn’t dead it’s asleep. Remember what Jesus told His disciples about Lazarus. I remember a few years ago, I was loving God, living for God, serving God, praying and fasting, and I thought the old Mel was dead, until the right storm hit my life. God used that storm to refine me and show me what was hidden in me. I didn’t know some of that stuff was still in me until God revealed to me it wasn’t dead it was sleeping and waiting for the right moment to resurface. The enemy thought he would use this storm to take me out, but God allowed it to refine me for the next level in Him.

God wants to do some great things in our lives and use us in a great way, but He can’t with some of the junk we are carrying. Some of us are carrying around excess baggage from failed relationships, broken promises, disappointments, failures, rejection, abandonment, unforgiveness… you name it. And God will allow a storm to hit our lives or allow us to go into the wilderness to process us and refine us for the next level in Him. We can’t go where He desires to bring us with some of the junk we are carrying. Don’t reject the refining process, release the baggage, let go of the unforgiveness and the hurt. You may be in the wilderness right now, but know that God is processing you for promise.

We enter into the wilderness two ways, either by default, our own doing, or by design, God’s preparation plan for our life to prepare us for promotion. He said in His word for I know the plans I have for you, plans to bless you and to prosper you, plans to give you hope and a future and an expected end. So if we find ourselves in the wilderness by default or design either way, He works ALL things together for our good!

It may not look good now, but in His time its beauty will be revealed. I know what you are going through may look ugly right now, but be encouraged because He made everything beautiful in His time. Made is past tense. He’s not making it, it’s already done. I don’t know what your “it” is, but “it’s” already done and in His time we will see the beauty of it!   He is allowing the process of the wilderness to prepare us for what is prepared for us. Process is a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular end that produces something or that leads to a particular result.

Your process is not in vain, it’s producing something in you! It’s preparing you and positioning you for promotion, purpose and to walk into promise. Don’t look at where you are and think this can’t be God. I’m reminded of the story of Joseph, Joseph was in prison but he was in the right place at the right time. Had he not been in prison He wouldn’t have been in position to interpret Pharaoh’s dream. Maybe, just maybe God orchestrated that setback for your comeback.

You may be waiting on God and questioning when God when?? I know things look ugly right now, but be encouraged because in His time its beauty will be revealed.

Pastor Mel

MK Ministries