The Holy One calls to me this morning. The furnace of affliction has been hot for sure. I cannot deny His presence in the heat, but I wonder what is to be gleaned from the experience.
The Holy Spirit speaks into the unspoken question in my mind, "Don't be afraid of the Refiner's fire nor shocked by what you see surface".
Long ago in my walk, the picture of gold being refined was etched in my mind. It is one of the most powerful and important visuals I have of my Heavenly Father.
Gold is refined through heat. The process requires it. As the gold heats up, it turns to liquid and in liquid form, the impurities that are fused to the gold in it's solid form, are ultimately separated and released. These impurities come to the surface of the molten gold and are removed by the refiner. Pure gold is what remains after the heat dislodges the impurities and the refiner ladles them off the gold.
Trials of life act like heat to our soul. The heat goes up under our lives and we start the melt down. All kinds of things begin to surface as we react to the heat. Many of us have those days when we are shocked by what we say or do in the "heat" of the moment. Things come out that shock and disturb our self image, especially our "Christian" self image.
Planet earth is our place of refinement. We were not born in a shape fit for Heaven. We are in a process and would do well to recognize and not forbid the Hand of Holiness from making us fit for our future habitation AKA the Kingdom of our God.
Our relationship with the "Refiner" is of utmost importance. We come into the world complete with a will for independence and rebellion and the heat goes up.
The Refiner's fire starts low. Some things surface immediately. Nothing shocking, just dirt that we knew was there. Salvation brings a new awareness of Holiness and we immediately surrender what we know is corruption within.
We get with the program: we join a church, follow the rules, sing out praises and life is sweet for a season. We know we can do this. The first round of the heat and we ace it. Religious pride is satisfied and we make a note to shelf along the lines of "I am thankful that I am not a hypocrite like that other guy".
The comparisons go on and we start to compare ourselves with others who don't live by the rules that legalism says make us Holy. Life moves us forward and then we begin to feel it: uncomfortable heat, strange circumstances, weird reactions from the world around us. The rules get broken and we come to the conclusion that others don't play by the same ones we do. We react and when we do, we are shocked.
We say very honestly, "if only they hadn't done this to me, I wouldn't have been so ugly to them. If only they had let me do what I wanted, I would not have hurt them by my words and actions. If only........" and we can all fill in the blanks with our excuses for failure for the lapses in our "Christian" character. Depression can set in and self-accusation can defeat us, unless we realize that this disturbing reality is all part of the process that our "Refiner" God is in charge of.
Sovereignty knows all things. He knows every cell in our body and every hair on our head. He also knows our emotions and our will. He sees through us and all our fine sounding but empty words when it comes to Holiness. For Holiness is His. Holiness is Who He is. And Holiness is what He is after in us, His beloved creation.
Eyes on the Refiner is the only way to tolerate the heat in life. He enables us to see what cones to the surface of our thoughts throughout the process and then identify the expressions and actions that flow out from the corruption within. That is the purpose for the "heat" To discover what lies deep with our hearts and then to surrender for correction whatever is not like unto His Holiness.
Somehow we have been led to believe in instant transformation at the moment of salvation. But scripture says that our God is patient and that is truly the quality of a Refiner. The heat goes up incrementally and each degree has a purpose and intent. The Lord knows what He is after in each one of our lives.
When the heat goes up, we should look to see what rises to the surface and not be discouraged by the disturbing reality of what has been exposed. Rather instead we should consider co-operating with the One removing the dross in our character. We might even offer up a song of praise that the corruption has been identified and can now be removed.
Jesus had harsh words for the legalistic Pharisees and all the rules that beat up the flesh but never changed the heart. In Mark 7:20-23, He said, "What comes out of a man is what makes him unclean, for from within, from out of men's hearts come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man "unclean"........ AKA "Unholy".
God is not surprised by what the heat reveals nor is He troubled by our humanity. The Cross took the penalty for it and His justice is satisfied. But we need to get with the process that is preparing us for eternal life with Him and react to the Refiner with a trusting and thankful heart. He doesn't leave us where He finds us liable for judgement. He is preparing us for another world that we cannot begin to fathom.
Today, rather than reel at the disturbing reality of my flesh or become depressed, shocked or stubborn about the effects of the heat exposing the corruption within, I choose to humbly thank my Lord for His work and trust that it is necessary to my refinement in His eyes.
The Holy Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
The Holy Spirit speaks into the unspoken question in my mind, "Don't be afraid of the Refiner's fire nor shocked by what you see surface".
Long ago in my walk, the picture of gold being refined was etched in my mind. It is one of the most powerful and important visuals I have of my Heavenly Father.
Gold is refined through heat. The process requires it. As the gold heats up, it turns to liquid and in liquid form, the impurities that are fused to the gold in it's solid form, are ultimately separated and released. These impurities come to the surface of the molten gold and are removed by the refiner. Pure gold is what remains after the heat dislodges the impurities and the refiner ladles them off the gold.
Trials of life act like heat to our soul. The heat goes up under our lives and we start the melt down. All kinds of things begin to surface as we react to the heat. Many of us have those days when we are shocked by what we say or do in the "heat" of the moment. Things come out that shock and disturb our self image, especially our "Christian" self image.
Planet earth is our place of refinement. We were not born in a shape fit for Heaven. We are in a process and would do well to recognize and not forbid the Hand of Holiness from making us fit for our future habitation AKA the Kingdom of our God.
Our relationship with the "Refiner" is of utmost importance. We come into the world complete with a will for independence and rebellion and the heat goes up.
The Refiner's fire starts low. Some things surface immediately. Nothing shocking, just dirt that we knew was there. Salvation brings a new awareness of Holiness and we immediately surrender what we know is corruption within.
We get with the program: we join a church, follow the rules, sing out praises and life is sweet for a season. We know we can do this. The first round of the heat and we ace it. Religious pride is satisfied and we make a note to shelf along the lines of "I am thankful that I am not a hypocrite like that other guy".
The comparisons go on and we start to compare ourselves with others who don't live by the rules that legalism says make us Holy. Life moves us forward and then we begin to feel it: uncomfortable heat, strange circumstances, weird reactions from the world around us. The rules get broken and we come to the conclusion that others don't play by the same ones we do. We react and when we do, we are shocked.
We say very honestly, "if only they hadn't done this to me, I wouldn't have been so ugly to them. If only they had let me do what I wanted, I would not have hurt them by my words and actions. If only........" and we can all fill in the blanks with our excuses for failure for the lapses in our "Christian" character. Depression can set in and self-accusation can defeat us, unless we realize that this disturbing reality is all part of the process that our "Refiner" God is in charge of.
Sovereignty knows all things. He knows every cell in our body and every hair on our head. He also knows our emotions and our will. He sees through us and all our fine sounding but empty words when it comes to Holiness. For Holiness is His. Holiness is Who He is. And Holiness is what He is after in us, His beloved creation.
Eyes on the Refiner is the only way to tolerate the heat in life. He enables us to see what cones to the surface of our thoughts throughout the process and then identify the expressions and actions that flow out from the corruption within. That is the purpose for the "heat" To discover what lies deep with our hearts and then to surrender for correction whatever is not like unto His Holiness.
Somehow we have been led to believe in instant transformation at the moment of salvation. But scripture says that our God is patient and that is truly the quality of a Refiner. The heat goes up incrementally and each degree has a purpose and intent. The Lord knows what He is after in each one of our lives.
When the heat goes up, we should look to see what rises to the surface and not be discouraged by the disturbing reality of what has been exposed. Rather instead we should consider co-operating with the One removing the dross in our character. We might even offer up a song of praise that the corruption has been identified and can now be removed.
Jesus had harsh words for the legalistic Pharisees and all the rules that beat up the flesh but never changed the heart. In Mark 7:20-23, He said, "What comes out of a man is what makes him unclean, for from within, from out of men's hearts come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man "unclean"........ AKA "Unholy".
God is not surprised by what the heat reveals nor is He troubled by our humanity. The Cross took the penalty for it and His justice is satisfied. But we need to get with the process that is preparing us for eternal life with Him and react to the Refiner with a trusting and thankful heart. He doesn't leave us where He finds us liable for judgement. He is preparing us for another world that we cannot begin to fathom.
Today, rather than reel at the disturbing reality of my flesh or become depressed, shocked or stubborn about the effects of the heat exposing the corruption within, I choose to humbly thank my Lord for His work and trust that it is necessary to my refinement in His eyes.
The Holy Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
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