Through The Fire
THROUGH THE FIRE
“Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd,
Against the Man who is My Companion,”
Says the LORD of hosts.
“Strike the Shepherd,
And the sheep will be scattered;
Then I will turn My hand against the little ones.
And it shall come to pass in all the land,”
Says the LORD,
“That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die,
But one-third shall be left in it:
I will bring the one-third through the fire,
Will refine them as silver is refined,
And test them as gold is tested.
They will call on My name,
And I will answer them.
I will say, ‘This is My people’;
And each one will say, ‘The LORD is my God’” (Zechariah 13:7-9 New King James Version).
While meditating on this verse, the Holy Spirit impressed upon me this is what happens when we surrender ourselves to the Lord. Two-thirds of “self”, which includes our past identity of sin, fleshly living, hurt, pain, torment, etc., is cut off and dead; the part of us that is left is our true identity in Christ. We can now recognize ourselves as His children by the grace He has shown us. God brings us through the fire to train us, teach us, mold and sculpt us. Proverbs 22:6 says “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.”
The fire refines us, burning off the false identities we (and/or others) have placed on ourselves – identities of unworthiness, unrighteousness, unlovable, religiosity and man centered doctrines. God is refining us so we do not depart from Him. Through the fire He increases our faith and prepares us for His plan and purpose. He is the Lord our God and we are His people.
Let’s Pray: Dear Heavenly Father, You are incredible, You are awesome, You are a talented artist, and you create and sculpt beauty. From Your hands comes tender care, necessary molding and shaping. In Your hands we are refashioned into what You’ve designed for each of us. Father, may we truly understand who we are in You, that the refining fire is necessary and Your testing is required. Father, may we not try to stitch back on that which You have cut off and killed. Sometimes we try to resurrect that which You desire to stay dead, may we see that what You have removed is no good for us. Father, we love You, we desire to serve You only. We give You all glory, all honor and all of our praise! In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Today’s Attitude of Worship: Think about when you were saved, meditate on who you used to be and who you are now. If you don’t see a difference, it could be you allowed areas, people or things to reattach themselves to you when God had cut them off with the intention to kill. Repent, and allow God to prune and remove those areas of your life that do not bear fruit.
Additional Scriptures: Isaiah 64:8; Jeremiah 18:1-11; Psalm 66:8-12
Shalom,
Prudence