Progression #4 “Into the Refiners Fire!”

I am so humbled and blessed that many of you have chosen to join me on this remarkable journey towards peace and contentment. For those of you who are just joining us, it is highly recommended that you read Progression #1-#3 prior to this. Phase 7 is: “You will be tested, and you will stumble and fall.” Few of us enjoy being tested and especially tests that seem impossible to pass. It is not about whether you fall flat on your face or not, it is about how do you get back up. With your eyes fixed on Jesus, looking into His beautiful eyes of mercy, or with your head hung low raising the white flag of surrender? Either which way, you are back on your feet and God can work with that and carry you through the trial into a place of victory….

I woke this morning with overwhelming feelings of defeat. With the chaos of these times and the pressures of my responsibilities weighing heavy on my heart my mind dreamed of an escape and I stumbled and fell into some self-pity. I wondered how can I teach on renewing the mind when I am struggling with my thoughts and desires? I said to myself, how can you teach on overcoming trials when you keep failing so miserably? As the morning went on, through words and music, Holy Spirit gently reminded me that these tests are the trying of my faith, not the trying of my strength or the trying of my morality. He reminded me that it is only by His grace that any of us can stand. He reminded me that these tests have nothing to do with my strength or my morality but have everything to do with my reliance and trust in His redeeming grace. I am in over my head and that is exactly where in need to be. My faith is not in me, but in His ability to mold, shape and refine me.

I thought of Peter who, on the night of Christs’ betrayal, said with boldness, “Lord I am ready to die for you!” Jesus responded: “Peter before the rooster crows in the morning, you will say three times that you don’t even know me!” Peter protested, so sure that He was ready to lay down his life. Of course, only hours later Peter did completely deny knowing Jesus three times, even swearing that He was not one of Jesus’s disciples. What incredible pain Peter must have felt in his failure. He was very aware of Jesus’ former teaching: “that if you deny me before men then I will deny you before the Father in Heaven.” Jesus did not leave Peter with a wounded heart. After His resurrection Jesus made a special visit to a group of his disciples by Lake Galilee. Peter went back to what he knew, he went fishing. They fished all night and caught nothing. Then at dawn, Jesus was standing there on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Him. He called out to them, saying, “Hey guys! Did you catch any fish?” “Not a thing,” they replied. Jesus shouted to them, “Throw your net over the starboard side, and you’ll catch some!” And so, they did as he said, and they caught so many fish they could not even pull in the net! John then said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” Peter quickly dove into the lake and swam to Jesus! Jesus said, “Bring some of the fish and let’s roast them on this fire I’ve started and let’s have breakfast.” After breakfast Jesus took Peter for a stroll along the shore and asked: “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter answered, “Yes, Lord! You know that I love you!” “Then take care of my lambs,” Jesus said. Jesus repeated his question a second time: “Simon, son of John, do you burn with love for me?” Peter answered, “Yes, my Lord! You know that I have great affection for you!” “Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said. Then Jesus asked him again, “Peter, son of John, do you have great affection for me for me?” Peter was saddened by being asked the third time, reliving his pain of denying Jesus and I believe with tears in his eyes Peter said, “My Lord, you know everything. You know that I burn with love for you!” Jesus replied, “Then feed my lambs!” and then he continued, “Peter, listen, when you were younger you made your own choices, and you went where you pleased. But one day when you are old, others will tie you up and escort you where you would not choose to go – and you will spread out your arms.” Jesus said this to let Peter know that in the end he will pass the test and will freely lay down his life and even be crucified for the Glory of God just like his Lord, Jesus. Around 31 years later Peter was nailed to a Roman cross telling his executioners to crucify him upside down since he did not feel worthy to die in the exact same manner as his Lord.

When you fall remember that He will never leave you or forsake you. What causes you to fall reveals areas of your heart that still need to be surrendered, restored and redeemed. We all have weaknesses or blind spots that cause us to stumble. Somethings are better off broken and put back together again stronger and more valuable than ever. Just like the Japanese art of Kintsugi, which puts broken pieces of pottery back together with gold showing that you can restore the broken pieces back to an even stronger and more beautiful piece of art, God will use the purest of gold to mend your broken heart, causing it to be more resilient and turning it into one of His spectacular priceless masterpieces for the whole world to see!

Several years back I found myself spending the night in jail. I deserved to be there, at least I felt that way. It was one of the lowest and most painful moments in my life. Waves of failure were flooding into my mind as I replayed my actions that landed me there. I truly felt and believed that I was worthless and not even deserving of life. In my torment I had no chance of sleeping, so in the quiet of the night, all alone, I picked up a book that was left on one of the tables. I have no idea how the book got there, but the book highlighted the fact that God chose to have His blessing go through Judah. To me the most remarkable man of the old testament was Joseph. Despite being sold to a slave caravan heading to Egypt by his brothers and then later lied about by his master’s wife and then thrown into prison, Joseph faced these trials with remarkable faith and resilience. After many years God eventually promoted him to second in command only under Pharaoh himself. God used him to save many lives, including his father and brothers by preparing in advance for a seven-year long drought. My logic tells me that a life that well lived would be rewarded with his father’s highest blessing, but that is not what happened. God chose the greatest blessing to fall on Judah. It was Judah’s idea in the first place to sell Joseph as a slave for the money instead of just killing him. Judah also betrayed his daughter-in-law Tamar, who paid him back by disguising herself as a prostitute in a nearby town and offered herself for money. Judah cheated on his wife and unknowingly had sex with his dead son’s wife getting her pregnant with twins. When he later noticed that she was pregnant he initially wanted to put her to death for her sins. Tamar was wise enough to have kept proof that it was Judah that had impregnated her. At the end of their father Jacob’s life all twelve sons gathered around him and he prophesied their futures. When he got to Judah he said: “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants, until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will honor….” Nine generations later, through the lineage of Perez, the illegitimate firstborn son of Tamar, King David was born and 28 generations after that Jesus was born of Joseph and Mary. Through this incredible story God helped me get back on my feet making it clear to me that He was not done writing my story. That His refiners fire was burning up the unwanted impurities and that in the end I will become a vessel that is sanctified and redeemed.

I have no idea what walk you have ahead of you, but I know you we live in a fallen world and you will be tested. One of my observations is that the more comfortable your life is, the less God centered you become. The tests keep you close to him and reveal your shortcomings and if you do not learn or grow through the experience you will continue to do laps, being tested in the same way over and over. Some of us are stubborn and unfortunately spend most or even all our lives failing the same test over and over. Do not allow the enemy of your soul to deceive you repeatedly. You must learn your weakness and become wise making good choices to progress forward. As an example, let us say your weakness is lust. Do not allow yourself to be convinced that God is calling you to minister to the prostitutes. You will end up going in your own strength and you will fall to temptation. It is by His grace that we stand (grace is the undeserved enabling power given by God). Some are given grace and have a remarkable ability to resist all kinds of temptations. You must begin to get to know yourself, each one is given a grace for something special in this life, but the road is filled with obstacles. When you fall, know that condemnation is never the answer, throwing in the towel is never the answer and making excuses and ignoring reality is never the answer. Placing all your trust in Him and his amazing grace to complete the work that He started in you is always the answer. God knows everything about you, and he accepts and loves you just the way you are. He also loves you too much to leave you the way you are. We are all a work in progress and the sooner you give into and even celebrate the process the sooner you will progress towards your overwhelming victory! I was originally planning on moving into Phase 8 at this point but feel led to pause and encourage you to meditate on these truths and allow them to be firmly rooted into your heart.