Refined

2/6/2020

2 Timothy 4:6 “I am already being poured out as a drink offering.”

Chamber says, “God puts you through the crisis in private, no one person can help another.”

I think this statement can be confusing. I mean, God gives us one another as helpmates for support and comfort. In His Holy Word, He tells us to “Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2 The Bible also says, “It is not good for man to be alone.” Genesis 2:18 and “Two are better than one, for they can help each other succeed.” Ecclesiastes 4:9 Of course, He gave us one another to travel this life with, and the most important thing we can do is pray for one another. Although, when we face a crisis of the soul, can anyone truly help us but God?

I know that when I was walking my “dark night of the soul”, I so desperately wanted someone, anyone, to save me. I was looking all around me for someone to pull me up out of the darkness and despair. I was praying for God’s help too, but, at that point, He only factored into part of my rescue. The truth is, the more I leaned on those around me, the more I broke, and so did they. It is the most helpless feeling to not be able to help someone you love. So many people’s hearts and prayers were with me, but I was holding back. God was not central in my life. I called out and asked Him “Why Lord?” but I was not ready to face the answer.

The God of all creation was too small in my life, and that had to change. I needed to turn everything over to Him in constant submission and release. He was the only One who could save me from the pit. My focus had to be fully on Jesus. It was a day by day, and in the beginning, often a minute by minute process. I was going through the refining fire, and when everything is burned away on the altar of sacrifice, all that is left is Jesus.

Chambers says, “You bind the sacrifice to the horns of the altar; and see that you do not give way to pity when the fire begins. “

Two years into my mind, body, and soul healing, my mother suffered a massive and debilitating stroke. It was devastating, and yet I had peace. I knew that my mother was fully in God’s hands, and I released all fear to Him. I’m sure to my family I seemed oddly calm at times, but this was God’s grace. I had learned that in times of crisis, turning to Him is the only way to peace. It is an offering up of self to your Creator, your Savior and Lord.

Chambers says, “When the crisis arises, you realize that things cannot touch you as they used to do. Tell God you are willing to be offered, and God will prove Himself to be all you ever dreamed He would be.”