Recently, I have been in a test. A treacherous trial that would have caused me to faint had I not believed to see the goodness of the Lord in it. In fact, if the Lord had not revealed Himself to be in the fire with me-carefully curating the flames- then I might have even believed the lies of the enemy that told me the inferno would swallow me whole.
But sometimes tests are like that, huh? A tooth-and-nail fight that it’s far too hard to keep score of.
You may feel like you are stretched thin, overwhelmed, pulled apart from arm-to-arm ever-fearing that one day your back might just break. But it’s in these moments that God can really get the best out of us and show us-through our pain and stress-the best parts of Him. We don’t have to bear our burdens alone or weep like a people without hope because we serve a God who takes our frailties and magnifies His strength within them. He is our peace in the midst of the storm and also the One that calms the seas, never allowing our souls to be fully submerged in the icy depths of its deep.
As I was studying the Bible tonight God led me to read Leviticus, Chapter 1. In this chapter, God describes to Moses the kinds of offerings that He will accept from His people and how. In great detail, He itemizes how each animal of sacrifice must be broken and placed on the altar to be burned before Him. Some instructions are, admittedly, a bit unsettling and hard to stomach. However, through this difficult text, the Lord began to speak a fresh word to me in regards to the season of testing that I’m in.
Though I may feel crushed in some areas of my life and, at times, feel like my heart is being torn apart…will I tearfully lay my wounds upon God’s altar? Will I allow Him to purify my pieces in Holy flame for His glory and the health of my countenance? Will I let myself to be broken before Him, even by Him, and offer up the sweet-smelling sacrifice of my will for His?
Though I may be under pressure and tried in the fire…what will I offer to the Lord in the flames? Will it be praise in the midst of hard-pressed circumstance? Will it be tears of gratitude through gritting teeth? Will it be humble obeisance in the face of horrific opposition?
Whatever it may be, the Lord presented me with this question and I now present it to you- What offering will you make to God in the fire?
1 comentario
Beautiful words of encouragement. And they are very timely. Thank you for sharing!