My family has begun a journey that I am sure is familiar to many of you. We are now making regular visits to the orthodontist because my daughter has recently been fitted with braces. The first evening after having the braces put on, she brushed and flossed her teeth. This is important for all of us, but it is especially important for a person wearing braces, and it takes diligence and meticulous attention to make sure the teeth are kept clean. Although she had seemed somewhat excited earlier in the day, after her first experience with the tedious process of brushing and flossing around the braces, she came to me and said that she had already decided she does not like braces.
I smiled and told her, “Honey, you will have to look at the goal. What you have to go through for the next two years will be worth it when you see the end result.”
Almost immediately, I thought how true that is in every aspect of life. A person who wants straight teeth has to endure the discomfort of foreign objects in the mouth and the pain involved when the doctor adjusts the braces every six weeks. In the same way, to obtain the desired end result in many areas of life, we must submit ourselves to the discomfort of the Holy Spirit convicting us of the need to make changes, and we have to endure the pain of making those adjustments.
My daughter’s mouth would be more comfortable if the orthodontist was not attempting to make changes. But in two years, she would have the same crooked teeth she has now. In our spiritual lives, we can sometimes see how good things could be down the road, but we are unwilling to make the changes necessary to get there.
I want to submit myself to the One who can make the changes in my life. I want to endure the discomfort—even the pain, so that I can become everything He wants me to be.
Scripture for Reflection
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. (2 Cor. 4:17)
