Refined in the fire

No one ever wants to spend time in the fire. The moment that things become uncomfortable in our lives, then we start begging God to remove us from the fire. Because it hurts. Being refined in the fire is painful. And our flesh doesn't like any kind of pain. We want it to be over immediately. But, if we will just lean into the fire and allow God to mold us into what He wants us to be, then we will reflect our God when we come out of the fire. 

When I’m in the midst of heartache, if I can just pause and ask God what He wants me to learn from the trial, then I can absorb the wisdom and knowledge that God wants to teach me. If I resist, however, and fight against it, then I end up staying in the fire even longer. God doesn’t remove us from the trial until we have learned what the trial was designed to teach us. 

Therefore, I have to surrender my control to God. I can’t learn from Him, when I think I know all about something. Some of the things that He instructs me to do doesn’t make sense to my carnal brain. Because God’s ways are so easy, we usually dismiss them and think they won’t work. I usually have to do everything the hard way, and when I have exhausted all of my possibilities, only then will I truly seek the Lord. When I seek Him, however, from a place of total surrender, then I can find Him and be able to walk with Him. 

God and I both can’t be in control. We have to decide who is going to be the Shepherd of our lives. Who do we want to be in control of our lives? Us, with our limited knowledge? Or God who created the Universe and everything in it? If we will just surrender our lives to God, then He will refine us in the fire until we reflect Him. While it will not be easy or pain-free, it will be worth it. 

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