Pioneers, Forerunners, & Ice-Breakers in the Fire of Refinement

Many of you are suddenly going through another level of shaking in your life.  This is a storm sent by God to refine you as God prepares you for advancing forward to all that you are called to be.  Give yourself grace in this process.  Ask God to give you his perspective on any situations and circumstances because not everything that looks negative is the devil.  We tend to resort to rebuking the devil for everything.  Slow down for a moment to identify it first.

One of the things He is working on is your character maturity in this fire of refinement.  Ask God for eyes to see.  It is important that you see through His perspective so that you do not push away what God is allowing for you.  You are praying for things, yet many times you are having a hard time identifying “how” God is answering you.  The first step always is to identify.

There are many of you tired of going through yet another process.  Your thoughts might be, “I am tired of waiting; not this again; I don’t have anything left in me; I don’t want another process; why again; what is going on?…etc.

You need to understand that your character must outweigh your anointing.  It has been confirmed to you repeatedly that you have been built differently because of the times that He sent you to be used for.  That time is at hand.  You are part of a rank in God’s army that is different and more set apart than those that have walked before you.  You’re made for such a time as this and are being training differently for a reason. 

“Praise the Lord, who is my rock.

    He trains my hands for war

    and gives my fingers skill for battle.”

-Psalm 144:1

Embrace the Storms with Joy

Every time a storm comes into your life, you can’t just whine, pout, and have a pity party. Get yourself together brother and sister in Christ.  Jesus left you the example of embracing the process with joy for the joy set before you.  This is what you must do.   Embrace the storm with JOY.  The whining, complaining, and grumbling must go!  It cannot go with you.  As a leader that God is wanting to send you forth as, this cannot be a part of you.  

God continues to send storms your way in order to give you opportunity to mature in different areas.  If you do not take a moment to identify and then respond, then a storm to teach the same lesson comes back.  Think about the process of going to school from Kindergarten to 12th grade.  The core subjects of math, science, language arts, history, etc are the same throughout.  The lessons in Kindergarten prepare you for 1st grade level, the lessons for 1st grade level prepare you for 2nd grade level and so on.  What happens when you don’t learn any of it for some reason?  You get put back through that grade again the following year, unable to advance to the next level.  So you see, it is the same with you in your walk with Christ.He doesn’t send storms to harm you but rather to grow you.  

For many of you, the time for release into your purpose is at hand.  Take a few steps back and slow down.  Get into the secret place with God and hear what He has to say.  Some questions you can ask are:  

• God, what are you wanting to do in me in this season?
• God, what are things that I need to let go of in this season?
• God, can you speak to me in the way you know I will understand you best?
• God, can you give me the ability to give myself grace in the process?
• God, can you forgive me for always fighting the storm you send to give me growth?
• God, can you give me the ability to give myself grace to forgive myself?

Making Room

You need to let go of what God asks of you.  Letting go of things means making room for the new He wants to fill and expand you with.  There are many parts of us and people relationships that absolutely cannot go where He is wanting to take you.  Identify and heed to the process that is meant to bring you growth and maturity.

Are you done having your pity party over what did and didn’t work out in the past up to now?  You need to let God help you seal off the past.  Hanging on to the past will only keep you from moving forward.  You don’t have time for that my brother and sister in Christ.  You were made for such a time as this and your purpose release is at hand.  Take the lessons that were to be learned and lay the rest at the feet of Jesus.  After you do that, do NOT look back!  Let it go! Let it go! Let it go!  Let it all go and embrace what God has for you in the now.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses

 to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, 

especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance 

the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, 

the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.[a]Because of the joy[b] 

awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated

 in the place of honor beside God’s throne.3 Think of all the hostility he endured

 from sinful people;[c] then you won’t become weary and give up. 

4 After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.

5 And have you forgotten the encouraging words 

God spoke to you as his children?[d] He said, 

“My child,[e] don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline,

    and don’t give up when he corrects you.

6 For the Lord disciplines those he loves,

    and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”

-Hebrews 12:1-6

Sift & Shift

God is wanting to sift and shift.  He wants to sift through everything in you and the things you have built up until now.  He wants to shift you in to new assignments after He removes the parts that you built that wasn’t from Him.  The parts that were from Him will only grow as you obey the steps He will give you.  He desires for you to linger in the secret place to hear what He has to say to you.  You can’t be too busy for this.

Take the time to allow God to shift your perspective where it’s needed.  You see, God is trying to get you to be consistently the same person you are with people you don’t know and then with those in your home as well as family. Your character needs to come to a place of consistency regardless of what the atmosphere or situation is.  Also, don’t beat yourself up for taking so long to get to that place.  Just focus on what God wants to do in you in each season in your walk with Him.  He knows to what degree he wants to stretch you in order to test you.  The question is, will you let Him do it?  How can God sift the grain from the chaff on the threshing floor if you resist and say no?

Encouragement

You made it this far with your yes to God.  Surely, this is not the time to quit and throw in the towel.  You’re so much closer than when you first started to the release of your purpose.  Remember to honor and love the Lord your God even more than all the promises He gave you.  Yes hang on to the promises He spoke to you but not more than you hang on to Christ himself.  You hang on to Christ himself and He will bring to pass everything He has promised you as you obey Him. You cannot love anything more than you love Him.

This path is narrow indeed but your life is making a way for those that will come through behind you.  This is not about you.  It is about the Kingdom of Heaven which is at hand.  You are the needed pioneer, forerunner, and icebreaker for these times on uncharted waters that the church never dared to go into before.  Be encouraged!  You’ve got this!  You were made for such a time as this.

“I look up to the mountains—

    does my help come from there?

2 My help comes from the Lord,

    who made heaven and earth!”

-Psalm 121:1-2