James 1
God as a Refiner’s Fire!
God as a refiner’s fire is a powerful image from Malachi 3:3! I love this image and based on it I often pray for people: Lord Jesus, please refine (insert your name here) with your unquenchable fire of holiness, removing all that is not of You and perfecting all that is of You, so that all that s/he thinks, says, and does brings You glory. Amen.
Together, let’s understand the old saying, “where there is smoke, there is fire” in a new way.
Listen to James 1:2-4 invite us to allow God as a refiner’s fire to work in our lives through difficult circumstances: “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
God refines us so that we reflect to the world more and more the presence of the One who is pure light, eternal love, and radiant holiness. From start to finish, this is a journey of love and grace because at the end of it, God promises that you will be “lacking in nothing”.
The Spirit works within you when you dedicate your life to be a living sacrifice for His glory (Romans 12:1-2):
Your desperate grip on life is broken (yet again!) …
Your disillusionments on what life should provide for you are burst like old wine skins (yet again!) …
Your desires for something other than God are pealed back like another thin layer of an onion (and you find yourself crying yet again!) …
If you want your life to be a living sacrifice to God, then never forget: where there is smoke, there is fire!
Seize the moment and let God work in you! This means that you can’t do everything in your power to get out of the fire of His love and grace. Rather, you must submit to His good work and learn to trust Him, yet again.