God’s Holy Heat

Dear Sister,

We know the analogy. The refiner’s fire. Precious metals undergoing intense heat in order to remove impurities resulting in glimmering gold and silver readied for the artisan’s creative mind and hand—And God’s ramping up of trials in our lives in order to surface besetting, even egregious sins, in order to elicit repentance and bring forth the purity of Jesus in our souls and behavior.

Which one of us Christ-redeemed sisters has not felt the singeing, the distress, the anguish of our Father’s furnace? The pain is often excruciating—especially when the refiner must make the fire hotter. The initial temperature did not remove the dross.

Those of us who have birthed little ones know the agony of labor and delivery and the sweet reward of the child laid on our breast. God wants that for us in the fires of refinement. He desires that the pain in the trials and the outcome of holiness be sweet to our remembrance and taste.

Is it enjoyable in the fire? Obviously not. Do we love the travails of infertility, losing little ones, wayward children, betrayal, cancer, lupus, accidents, death, the agony of our babies born with special needs and medical equipment displacing all the pretties in the room? Those are the big ones. What about the daily scrapes and bruises, disappointments, unmet expectations, anxieties, frustrations, elusive peace? Do you often feel like the sons of Korah in Psalm 88, lamenting God’s seeming abandonment?

Do we truly believe all things are working for our good? Are we being conformed to the image of Christ in patience and purity and holiness? (Romans 8:28-29) God tells us that the peaceable fruit of righteousness is the yield for those who are trained in life’s painful trials. (Hebrews 12:11) Are we indeed being trained or are we chafing and rebelling under the yoke of the One who is gentle and humble in heart and promises rest for our souls? (Matthew 11:29) Do we trust that discipline proves we belong to the Master and we are not illegitimate? (Hebrews 12:8) Can we honestly say, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised”, when our undesirable situation never changes? (Job 1:21)

Do we toe the line because we love our Savior’s face and groan at disappointing Him or simply because we are afraid of punishment? Or do we not care all that much and rely on distorted meanings of mercy and grace, not comprehending that these two can be severe in order to bring us to Himself in struggling or glad submission.

In the gifting, yes, gifting of trials in life, do we give thanks, obeying His admonition to be grateful in all things which is His will for us? (1 Thessalonians 5:18) Do we rejoice in difficulties because of the glorious fruit they produce in us? Do we find evidences of His holy attributes when our emotions are bent low with the weight of the present burden?  Can we say, “He is the Always Good” even when we do not understand?  Or do we grumble and complain, thrusting our fists at God, telling Him He does not know what He is doing?

Dearest Sister, let us ask ourselves these questions and ask the Lord of all to give grace to answer these queries according to biblical principles, with bare and honest hearts. Let us reckon His holy heat as good because He is good—always good. Embrace the emotions of pain and grief because they are real, but bring these under the authority of Christ. Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5)

Bear in mind:  All trials are ordained through His loving hands; all trials are His discipline/teaching in the school of becoming like Christ; our sufferings will not always resolve in relief on this earth; some trials are actual chastening for sin. It is not for me to figure that out in your life, dear Sister, only in mine. Whatever our conclusions about the why of a difficulty, one thing is certain: All is for our good and for His glory.

“Count it all joy, my sisters, when [not if] you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-4

I’m so grateful for His preserving love and His holy, refining heat in my own life, preparing me for the perfections of my heavenly home, causing me to love the Savior more deeply and yearn to see Him face-to-face when trials will cease and I will truly be like Him forevermore. Oh, yes, I still grumble. I still question. I resist thankfulness. Rejoicing is not my first go-to.   But these times are shorter in duration and always end in repentance. That’s an advantage of aging physically and in the Lord, by His grace alone.

“Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord!” (Psalm 31:24)

“Though He slay me, I will hope in Him…” (Job 13:15a)

Enjoy this song by Shane and Shane and let the truths of its words sink deeply into your heart.  http://Though You Slay Me

With love,

Cherry

 

The Variety of Affliction

Dear sister,

Affliction comes to us in many forms. It could be the loss of a loved one, the disappointment of a dream deferred, the ache of homesickness or the heartbreak of unrequited love. The longer we live the more kinds of affliction we experience and I would argue the more intensely we feel it cut into our bones.

Recently, I’ve been experiencing homesickness. More so over the past month than in the last seven months that I’ve been away from my family. Seven months? Has it only been that long? When I moved away for college it was definitely not this hard. But now, working as a young professional, everything feels so permanent.

This ache in my heart has never been so strong or so difficult to ignore. Did I make the right decision? Is this really where God wants me? How can I feel so alone when I’m surrounded by so many people?

During the time I was experiencing this hurt my church began a series on Job and suffering. One point that my pastor made rang particularly true to me. He said “In the midst of suffering we have the tendency to forget the bigger picture and believe that there is nothing greater going on in the world than our suffering,” and “suffering will cause you to doubt God and forget who He is.”

Wow. This was surely true of me. I had allowed my circumstances to cause me to doubt God’s sovereignty and goodness. All I wanted was for Him to tell me why this was happening and just fix everything for me so that I could be happy. But as Job waited for God’s response to his suffering, so I too was left without explanation or resolution.

As the series on Job progressed, I continued to hear more and more truths that I’ll admit I didn’t want to hear. I wanted to hear that it would be OK for me to run back home and “escape” these feelings of loneliness but instead I heard the words of the LORD to Job: “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth…or who shut in the sea with doors…have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place…have you comprehended the expanse of the earth? Declare, if you know all this” (Job 38:4, 8, 12, 18).

God is pointing out here that Job is out of his depth. He cannot possibly understand fully the ways of God. In chapter 42, Job acknowledges this saying, “Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.”

The story of Job leads us to this principle: knowing why we are suffering isn’t the solution to it. The better answer than why is Who. Remember in your suffering who God is. Remember His sovereignty and that because of it your pain can never be random or unexpected by God. Remember that He is faithful and will bring you through it.

For me this meant seeing a tiny glimpse of the woman I will be when I reach the end of this time in my life. I saw a woman full of greater faith than when she left home, who knows how to trust God in all circumstances and who has learned the secret to being content. That is, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. In knowing that this specific situation is sanctifying me and bringing me closer to Jesus, I can sincerely rejoice in my momentary afflictions. I know that sounds strange, dear sister, but it happened! It really, truly happened for me and the Lord can do it for you too.

If you are enduring a trial right now, sister, you have a reason to rejoice. Do not cheat yourself from the sanctification that will result by seeking an escape route. But cling to the Lord and his promises. I know it hurts now but God will show you His faithfulness. I guarantee it.

“Count it all joy my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” –James 1:2-4

You may also want to consider Romans 5:1-5; 8:18-25; and James 5:7-11.

Under His wing,

Kayla