I grabbed the shot above from our front steps one afternoon when it had reached 100 degrees feeling like 104. It was a couple of weeks ago. We have entered what is typically our hottest season here in Texas. Likely for you as well regardless of where you are while reading it. Many resort to pool time, staying in the air conditioning, while others are sunbathing to develop that golden tan. The question I want us pondering today is how do we respond to the “heat” of God’s work in our lives?
You see in life heat can refine and it can ruin. It is all in how it is applied. In the kitchen if I neglect to watch the amount of heat on the dish I am cooking, the heat can ruin it because it burns to the bottom of the pan. But in gas production, heat is a critical component of refining oil so that we have the fuel we need to drive our vehicles.
Heat can refine or ruin.
How is God applying “heat” in your life today? Are you yielding to His refining fire so that as Job declared, “But he knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold,” or are you hanging on to that which He desires you to release so it doesn’t ruin you? You see just like that dish on the stove needs just the right heat to cook and not burn, God know just the right amount of heat to apply to your life to refine you not ruin you.
In these uncertain times, let us be careful to consider our hearts and our response to God’s refining heat. Let’s be women who trust Him enough to submit to His refinement; to be strong and courageous because the Lord our God is with us wherever we go and in whatever we face; and let us rejoice that the refiners fire has produced a more excellent reflection of Christ in our lives.
Serving with Love,
Elizabeth