May we take a delight in being stripped, if God strip us. When you use the chisel upon these blocks of stone, that are to be built upon the Living Stone, Lord, do not only square us, and fashion us, but separate us from the old rock to which we have been wedded so long: set us free from that hole of the pit, and let us be brought into the upper air, and built upon Christ, to lie there forever.
“You rejoice in this, even though now for a short time, if necessary, you suffer grief in various trials so that the proven character of your faith—more valuable than gold which, though perishable, is refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:6–7)
Amen.
