The ideas that I'm getting ready to put forward have been some of the most challenging things I have experienced in my relationship with God. I'm sure that I have spoken about this subject on the blog and in sermons but it's good to be reminded. The thought of God as a refiner's fire can be difficult for some of us to understand. This is especially true if your belief about God is that He is always at odds with you. However, if you think of Him as a good Father then you will be able to experience this with a whole different attitude.
I'm not a silversmith but from what I have read is that metal is heated to the point that it melts down to a liquid. In this liquid form, dross comes to the surface and has to be removed. This is how we get silver to it's purest form. Once the dross is removed then the liquid can be poured into a mold. After it has cooled off and polished then you have something beautiful to behold. For the silversmith this process has nothing to do with his hatred of the raw material but actually a zeal for what it can become.
This is exactly how the Lord works in your life. When he applies the heat of His love toward you it causes the dross in your life to come to the surface. I have actually seen people experience the presence of the Lord and nasty things come out of them. Why? It's the refiner's fire. What we don't want to do is stop short of the process or get caught up looking at the dross. We actually need to allow Him to remove it from our lives so that we can be brought into our purest form.
Here's where the challenge comes in:
I have actually heard the Lord say this in my own life. I asked him one time why I responded in a certain way to a situation and He told me that He was actually drawing close to me. When He came near it caused this junk to come to the surface because He wanted to take it away. The challenge to your mindset will be whether or not you can believe that sin was actually just the wrong response to Him? That's right...I just said that!!! Can you believe that someone responded in anger simply because it came to the surface? Can you believe that someone responded in manipulation or control because it was time for it to be removed? Or what if someone actually turned to porn because they didn't realize that the Lord was drawing them into intimacy? The reality in all of these situations is that what caused all of this junk to rise to the surface was because of the nearness of His presence. I have had several conversations with strong believers who have experienced this very thing. What if the angry person chose to walk in love instead? What if the controlling person chose to walk in trust instead? What if the person who chose to watch porn chose intimacy with the Lord instead? If these people would have responded to the person of Jesus then He could remove the other issues from their life. These things that come up - when we allow the Lord to have His perfect work in us - can be removed and us molded into our perfect form.
I realize that this a challenging way to think. Especially if you think that God cannot be in the presence of sin. However, this is often when the Lord is the closest to us. This is possible because He dealt with sin at the cross. It's also possible because of His zeal to see us conformed into the image of His Son. He has an excitement over seeing us reach our potential. He knows what He has designed us for and He is committed to seeing it come into being. You are His work of art in the earth. Allow Him to draw near. Allow Him to remove any impurity in thoughts or actions. Allow Him to conform you into the image of Jesus.
Enjoy the process and enjoy the journey. His is for you!!!
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