Have you ever wondered why there are ups and downs in your life? In fact there seems to be so many sometimes that you are beginning to think that no one really cares, not even God. You have probably been questioning God for sometime now asking Him just why your life seems to be in such a state of confusion, stress, and just plain messed up. If this defines you,read on, and see if you can get some reasons as to why your life has been such a struggle. If your life is not confused, stressed or just plain messed up and you don't seem to fit into this message, read on and see if God is trying to tell you why you are the way you are and what He is trying to say to you. No matter where you are in your journey of life, God is working in your life to bring you to where He wants you to be.
I have chosen to use a camp out and fishing trip to illustrate just how God works in our lives to bring us to that place where He has purposed us to be. I hope you will come to a place in your life that you can and will yield to God's purpose for your life. In the Scriptures you will find Jesus Christ, Gods only Son speak about fishing. This is where I want to start this message, on a fishing trip.
Fishing can be a lot of fun, except for the challenge of finding just where the fish are and just what it takes to catch them. Sometimes you can cast your line and bait into the water and there is no keeping the fish off the hook. Other times you can try every kind of lure, bait and method only to come up empty. When Jesus began His ministry He went looking for certain individuals. Some of them were fishermen by trade. These men knew the waters, they knew where the fish were and when it was good to fish and when it was not. There were times when no matter how hard these men tried they came up empty. Peter and his brother Andrew were the first Christ approached and asked them to follow Him. Then He approached James the son of Zebedee and James's brother John, Matthew 4:18-22. These men followed Christ immediately and began learning who Jesus was and what He was all about. They ended up believing in Christ as the Son of God. their Messiah. After three years of ministry and teaching His disciples the ways of the Kingdom of God Christ's time on earth was over. After His resurrection He came back to be with His disciples for a certain amount of time. He meant with them on different occasions, one being back at the lake where He meant with His first followers, Luke 5:1-11 gives us the story. According to scriptures these men had been fishing all day and brought back nothing, but at Christ's instructions they went back out and dropped the net just in the right spot at the right time.
I have done a lot of fishing and I know the excitement of catching fish and the disappointment of coming back empty. During our camp out and fishing trip we spent several hours out on the lake fishing. My grandson and I used the exact same lure and bait as everyone else but with zero success. We kept trying though, jigging and casting. Everyone else had caught fish, Pat and I did not give up, we kept trying until finally I hooked one, then another. My grandson was still trying and getting a little disappointed. He looked up at me and said, grandpa, I prayed. I was a little surprised but not really, I told him that he should catch fish then. He kept trying and about five minutes later he hooked his first fish, then a little later another, then another. Later I reminded him about his prayer and he immediately said thank you Jesus. So, what's my point of all this? Sometimes it takes a lot of different baits and methods before we can actually bring someone to Christ. Just like yourself, if you came to Christ and gave your heart and soul to Him, it took some baiting and a lot of jigging to get you to the point you realized you needed Christ in your life, but finally you heard the call of Christ and you yielded to Him.
Those who fish as either a sport or commercially know that after you catch the fish they have to be cleaned and prepared for the dinner table. Cleaning is not the most pleasant part of fishing, it takes time and work, but when done properly you have something worth while. People are like that of course, once they realize their need for Christ in their life, there is a cleaning process they must go through, it's called discipleship, a time where they learn just who God is, who Christ and the the Holy Spirit is. They learn the scriptures and how to follow the instructions given to us through them. And there is the area where they learn that some things in their lives most go, those things that are not so pleasing to God. It takes coming along side other fishers of men to learn how to disciple new believers. When someone comes to Christ, they must go through the cleaning process or they will remain a little stinky and won't be someone you want to be around. The cleaning process is necessary.
Now that you have come to Christ and the cleaning process has started, you most realize that this is a life long process. When we were camping a part of the family that hosted our camp out brought his rock polishing equipment. Here my grandson learned just what it took to get a rough piece of agate rock to a finely polished finished product. First he had to find the right piece of rock with a design that he liked, then a shape had to be etched onto the rock. After the rock is marked it is ready to cut. The cutting is slow and necessary in order to get the shape you marked on the face of the rock. This to me is like when God begins His cutting process on our hearts. He selected each of us for a purpose and for us to fulfill that purpose God had to begin the cutting process by selecting each of us individually and then shape us into what He wants our life to become. After the shape on the rock has been cut out there are many rough edges on it, and each one of these rough edges has to be ground off until somewhat smooth. This process takes time and patience. Many times my grandson would stop and inspect the area where a rough edge was and if it still seemed a bit rough he had to return to the grinding stone to remove any remaining rough edges until it was completely smooth. After that rough edge was done he would proceed to the next one, continuing all around the rock until all the rough edges were smoothed out. Isn't this the way God works in our lives, He finds a rough edge and begins His smoothing process. He keeps working on it until it is completely smoothed out. The grinding process God uses isn't always pleasant and it may even hurt a bit, but it is completely necessary because without removing the rough edges you cannot be ready for the next stage that is coming. God sometimes uses hardship in our lives to remove a rough edge, or He may use circumstances to remove it. There may be friends that come along and say something to you that will help you to learn a valuable lesson. The rough edge has to be removed. Each stage the rock goes through in the grinding process is another step closer to being that finished product. Once all the rough edges have been ground down to a smooth finish, there is another step or process that must be taken, and that is the stage of polishing, this stage will bring out the best in the rock and put a very smooth and shiny finish on it. This allows the design on the inside of the rock to shine through when held up to the light which reveals the true beauty of the rock, its inner beauty and design, the purpose of the rock has been revealed. It brings enjoyment and wonderment to those who cast their eyes on it, and when held up to the light, its glory is seen in its fullness.
God never gives up on us when He begins the process of removing the rough edges, He keeps bringing something into our lives that will help remove any unwanted roughness. In us He sees our purpose for which He put us on this earth for and until all the rough edges are removed He cannot start the polishing process. Once God gets us to where He wants us only then will He polish us so that our inner beauty will shine through. Through that polishing will the Glory of God our creator be able to truly shine through us. Christ will reveal Himself to us and He will reveal Himself through us to others once we have had the rough edges ground off and we have been buffed to a finely polished finish that reflects the one who created us in the first place. Even though we may shine a little with rough edges, we shine our best when we allow God to remove all the rough edges and start polishing us, then we can shine brightly, and the glory of God will be that which shines through us. What design does God want to shine through you? We each have a specific image within us that God wants to reveal.
So here I have presented to you two different processes for our lives, one of fishing and another of rock polishing. Either way you look at it we are called by God for a purpose in our lives. As we spend time with Jesus we learn more of who He is and what He is about. He will take us through the process of cleaning by removing those things that are unnecessary, those things that will not benefit us or His Kingdom. God will take us through many trials and temptations that help to smooth out the rough edges so we can be polished to a smooth finish that will reflect the glory of Christ in us. Your light will shine in a dark world if you allow the cleaning and buffing process to work in your life. Read these scriptures and spend time letting them sink into your soul.
James 1:2-4, Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
1 Peter 1:3-9, Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all the you greatly rejoice, though now for al little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith, of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire, may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you do not see him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
James 1:12, Blessed is the man that endures temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to them that love Him.
Here are some other scriptures that refer to being refined through trials or suffering. (Just place your cursor over the scripture reference and it should come up for you).
1 Peter 4:12-19; Romans 5:3-5; John 16:33; 1 Corinthians 10:13; 1 Peter 5:10
Don't be disheartened when you go through some tough times. Remember, God is still working in your life and He is just removing another rough edge or He may be cleaning up some messy part in your life that doesn't bring Him pleasure. He wants you to be all you can be, He wants you to reach your potential that He has placed in you. Even though it may be hard, rejoice in your present circumstance because God is not done with you yet. If God did not love you He would not bother to refine you, but since He truly loves and cares for you, God is continually working in your life. 
Hebrews 12:4-11, Just follow His instructions and you will one day find yourself cleaned and polished to a brightness that the world can see and God will be glorified. Just as every agate that is cut from a stone has its unique quality and beauty, every person who God places on this earth has a unique quality, potential and inner beauty that is drawn out by cleaning and refining. Don't be discouraged when trouble comes your way, know that your heavenly Father is showing His never ending love for you and wants to make you shine so others can see His love for you. 
