Our evening meal was over and the dishes had been placed in the dishwasher. As I continued cleaning I saw that my kitchen sink was stained. I reached for the bleach cleanser and gave the sink a generous spray.

For a few second the stains became more pronounced. The sink actually appeared darker right before my eyes. I could tell the bleach was working and soon the genuine white shone through. My sink was once again glistening.

Sometimes we must pass through a necessary painful cleansing process before we can fulfill the tasks God has called us to do.

God forgave Isaiah's sins when the angel touched his lips with a live burning coal. Isaiah then was able to submit himself entirely to God's service and say, "Lord, I'll go! Send me."

Allowing God to purify us can be very painful. We sometimes feel that God is doing a bleach job on us as confess our sins and submit to His control.

But, just like my sink had to appear darker before it became completely clean, we, too, must be purified before we can truly serve a pure and holy God. As we are purified by God, his reflection in our lives becomes more and more clear to those around us.