Too often we resist though, we fight against the flames that will, in the end, strengthen and purify us. Think about the qualities in gold produced from refining fires: impurities are stripped away, and the intrinsic make-up of the gold is made stronger than ever. No wonder biblical writers frequently draw on this analogy!
Job 23:10 says, “But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.”
I’ve learned to see seasons of refining fires like spiritual alignments. If your back is out of place, you go to a chiropractor. In order for your spine to be put back into proper and healthier alignment, you must allow the chiropractor to adjust you without resisting and holding tension in your neck. It’s the same with our Father; we must trust His teaching and timing, not resisting and clinging to control. Your spine affects every other system in your body, whether you realize it or not. Likewise, if you’re not pursuing the presence of God and spending time listening to Him, aligning your heart with His, all other areas of our lives will be affected.
This season was a rather difficult refining fire for me. God was teaching me the beauty of waiting on Him and allowing this fire to produce fruit that holds longevity. When gold is refined, it isn’t put in the fire for two minutes. It might be put in the fire for two days, or even two weeks. We cannot expect instant gratification and faith as pure as gold without time, extended time, during which we wait on and seek God.
Waiting on God doesn’t mean stopping. Waiting does not allocate ceasing all progress. It’s a position of our hearts. Just read these verses:
“Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!” Psalm 27:14
“Blessed are all those who wait on Him.” Isaiah 30:18
“The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” Lamentations 3:25-26
We live in the expectation that God is worthy of our trust. He comes through, every time, with results and plans that are better for us than anything we could ever devise. We let Him refine our desires to be for Him, to grow for Him and His Kingdom, and we let the desires that don’t fulfill us burn out.
And He is so patient during each and every season and process! I love His tender-heartedness and grace in teaching me. Leonard Sweet tweeted the other day, “When Adam and Eve messed up, God didn't throw them away and start over again. God comes looking for us: ‘Adam, where are you?’” He knows we still make mistakes and have trouble surrendering control. He continues to patiently and tenderly come after us when we hide in our failure, shrinking back from the flames. He comes, gathers us in His loving embrace, and reminds us that we are His dearly beloved, and that He is refining us into the incredible works of creation He designed us to be. He reminds us that Jesus’ blood covered all of our sins, yesterday, today, and tomorrow to come. So we lay down our defenses, take hold of His hand, and press on into His heart and His Kingdom.
One aspect I’ve come to be so grateful for in this past season is the growth I’ve had in intimacy with Him. Both in my prayer/worship time and in my study of His Word, I find Him drawing me nearer to His heart. I take my weariness, my longing, my struggle to mature and grow, my dying self-sufficiency, and I lay it at His feet. Times when I felt like the fires of this season were scorching me rather than refining me, I found myself hearing Jesus say, “See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands (Isaiah 49:16)…Even to your old age and gray hairs, I am He, I am He who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. (Isaiah 46:4).”
I have a feeling that many of you are feeling worn down by whatever season you’re in...but let me reassure you, He has an incredibly beautiful plan! Trust Him. Wait on Him, seek Him with a song of praise and a heart of adoration.
“For our God is a consuming fire.” Heb. 12:29
“As the Father has loved me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.” ~Jesus, in John 15:9
“This third I will put into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold.
They will call on My name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’” Zecheriah 13:9
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