(Matthew 16:24) “Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.â€
Have you come to the point in your spiritual walk that you can honestly say to God the very words that Jesus prayed in the garden; “not as I will, but as You will.†(Matthew 26:38-39) “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with Me. Going a little farther, He fell with His face to the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.†Our flesh selfish and it wants its own way, but the more you deny it the more it will die and as the flesh dies, the spirit takes over more and more. (Galatians 5:16-17) “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature.â€
As long as we live in the flesh there will be trials that will test your flesh and your faith; that is all a part of growing up in Christ. (James 1:2-4) “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.†To be mature in your faith you have been purified, or have undergone the baptism of fire. (Matthew 3:11) “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.†God likens the process of purification to the purifying process of gold. When gold is purified it goes through the fire until the goldsmith can see his image in it. (I Peter 1:3-7) “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.†God wants to see His image in you! We should be a reflection of our Lord and Savior! This gives true glory to God; the world is affected more by your life than your words. (II Corinthians 3:18) “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.â€
In the Book of Daniel 3:20-27, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are thrown into a fiery furnace and they came forth unharmed! In fact, people saw a 4th man in the fire with them, a man that looks like “a son of the gods.†This was Jesus! This passage represents the purification process of God. The Lord has years of the world to “weed†out of most of us when we are saved. (Matthew 15:13) “He replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots.†Yes, we are a new creation, but our minds need to be renewed. (Romans 12:2) “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.â€
In submitting to the “baptism of fire†God will purify your heart removing the impurities and you will “come forth as gold,†and ready to move on to the next stage in your walk giving all glory to God as He deserves. If you want to be greatly used by God as He promises, “you will do even greater things than these†then you will have to go through the fire; if you want to share in the glory, in the inheritance then you have to share in the sufferings; the trials. (Romans 8:17) “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory.†In letting God purify you—you are also learning how to be led by the Spirit. (Galatians 5:24-25) “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.†This is day to day dying to self. (Philippians 1:21) “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.†If you ever want to be used mightily in your daily life for God, you need to remember it is for His glory and not your own and you must let the Holy Spirit lead you; not your mind, will and emotions. This is submitting to the Lordship of Christ. Your flesh and your mind may want to something contrary to the Spirit, but it is your choice to obey it or God. (I Corinthians 2:15) “The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment: ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.†You are doing God’s will and it is for His purpose and glory and He already knows the outcome; therefore He already knows the process and steps He wants to take to achieve it. The purification process is also known as sanctification. (I Thessalonians 5:23) “May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.â€
I Died Today
Lifeless in Your hands, You carry me.
I am dead to the world and to my flesh
that You may live free in me.
I have fought and wrestled against the struggles
in my heart, wanting all the pain to be free from me.
The answers to my pain You already knew.
There was only one thing that I needed to do.
Yet I struggled on, trying in my own way and
praying in desperation. The fight continued on;
my heart truly broken. I cry out, “Please God,
show me Your way!â€
You knew the way and were patient with my stubborn heart;
fighting for it’s own way and failing to see it Yours.
Weary from the pain and the trials that wore me out; I fall
lifeless into Your hands. The path has broke my heart.
I finally died today; my will inside me gone.
It’s buried with my pain and in Your hands I lay.
My heart cries out, “I’m tired Lord, there’s no
more fight, my heart struggles no more.â€
To my amazement, the peace I sought finally came.
When to my will I died and I called to You and gave myself.
My heart will never be the same.
That was the way all along. For God is great and His way
is best. We must die to self and seek His grace;
in us let His glory be revealed that we may see His face.
He’ll wait patiently to hear us say, “Lord, not my will,
but Thy will be done.†His peace will come and you
will never be the same. When in your heart His
presence known, you will shine; His glory known
in Jesus name.
Trust in God’s overwhelming love to lead you through the process in victory! He loved you enough to die for you; trust Him enough to lead you victoriously and safely in your everyday life. Once you learn to totally submit to the Lord, completely yielded to Him you will never be the same and you will wonder, “Why did I fight this?†Being totally yielded to the Lord will allow Him to use you in ways that will not only bring Him glory, but will be more fulfilling to your heart then you could ever imagine. (Jeremiah 31:3) “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.â€
