Christian women, like our laundry items, are often put under pressure. Our material is tested—what are we made of? How strong is it? Can it withstand washing after washing? Our stains are sin. How does God remove them and iron the wrinkles out? King David prayed and asked God to clean him up. “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving kindness: according to the multitude of your tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin” (Psalm 51:1–2). And again, “purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow” (v. 7). Our trials help us become spot free and wrinkle free.
Some of these trials are “short cycles” while some take a longer setting, depending on the amount of sin to be washed away.
During our wash cycle, God may use hyssop to clean us, to make us “whiter than snow.” These may be the truly difficult cycles there seems to be no end to. By prayer and fasting and meditation we see where we need to change our lives. We are washed with the precious blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse us of our sins. We know the sacrifice Jesus Christ made for us and the suffering He went through for humankind. This makes our material strong enough to withstand the agitation of the wash cycle. When God sees we are ready, He rinses us with the clean spiritual water of His Holy Spirit.
Through trials, we are softened. We are more accepting of correction and see why trials are needed. The cycles being ended, God irons our wrinkles out. We are proved again by the lighter trials, where heat is applied to our lives. Our prayers are the sweet fragrance God accepts. These shorter cycles may not last as long, but are necessary. Just as we have a main goal, or focus, we have smaller goals to attain it, which keep our minds focused on that greater goal.