What Refining Looks Like

Because we know so many are entering times of refining, we need to really understand what refining is, what it does and what it may look like. That way we will recognize it when it shows up, and work WITH God and not against Him in the process. If you work against Him, you will only be in the wilderness longer.

In the times of refining coming, I think it stands to reason people will be refined the ways they have been refined in the past - Simply because those ways work. Because those ways bring the results the Lord wants to see.

The Israelites were led from their homes to the hot, barren desert. The desert is a place of NO comfort – its too hot during the daytime, too cold at night, they were among scorpions and snakes – and there’s very little water and almost no food at all.

Are we going to lose our comforts? I think we definitely will. Why?

• Our lack of comfort forces us to focus not on relaxing or enjoyments of the flesh, but on Him

• Our lack of comforts eventually produces a desperation for His comfort

• Extended periods of lack of comfort will force us to turn to The Comforter of our souls for comfort, which is what He wants

In some of my darkest hardships, the moments of total desperation are when I got to know My Lord as my comforter. I even felt His feathers cover me once early in my walk on a dark night of my soul, before I ever knew this verse:

4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. – Ps. 91:4

And in that dark night and for months afterwards as I walked out that difficult journey, He comforted me and reassured me again and again through His Word.

There are some crises, some events that are so painful, nobody BUT the Lord can comfort you. But it is in our weakness that His strength is so clearly evident. As we faint in our minds from the pain and brokenness of what is happening, He rises up in our spirits and reminds us to praise Him, to thank Him for the blessings still so evident in our lives. He reminds us that This too shall pass, if we will just hold our heads up as best we can and keep putting one foot in front of another.

When we have miscarried that baby so greatly longed for, when a child has gone astray and is facing prison, when our spouse has chosen the affections of another over us…When a long-held dream comes crashing down and there is nothing we can do now to make it come true…When someone irreplaceable in our lives dies…And we are left alone in this dark world to try to get through each day without them…When people we care about walk away with no explanation…When friends leave us when we need them most…

So many situations break our hearts as we try to make our way in a world that is not our home that there just is no remedy for, we struggle to understand what is happening and WHY it is happening to US, when we TRY to do right things.

Many people refuse to believe in the Lord because of the injustices in the world they have laid to HIS account. But though all these things break our heart irrevocably, He has promised to work them for good in our lives as He comforts us through them. He has promised He will love us and never forsake us, to be ever-present with us as we walk these dark unfamiliar roads otherwise alone.

We don’t always get the answers to why bad things happened in our lives, but He has promised us crowns and rewards and eternal life is we will face the tests and pass them in spite of our pain. And He is there, ever interceding on our behalf, and cheering us on each time we make a right choice.

Are we going to be in lack? You betcha. Why?

Well, what does lack do?

• Lack gives us compassion for others in need

• Lack forces us to turn to HIM as our Provider when we have exhausted other means

• Only real lack can teach us total dependence on God

Are we going to be persecuted? You bet. Why?

Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. – 2 Tim. 3:12

Well, what does persecution do?

• It toughens our skin against others’ unbelief

• It makes us more resolute in our faith – it sort of HARDENS our faith like a rock, so that in future persecutions, WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED