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| How do you hold up when you're held to the fire? |
Who You Really Are
Who You Are in the Fire Is Who You Really Are
Lisa Bevere
I don't really like this truth, but
here it is: Who you are in the fire is who you are.
I want to imagine that who I am on
television is the true representation of who I am. I like the edited version of
me.
I like how I look after an hour
with a makeup artist and someone who actually knows how to style my hair.
I like kind lighting and a controlled
set. But none of these dynamics reveal my hidden flaws. Those usually come out
when some area of my life is crossed.
This reminds me of something God
spoke through the prophet Isaiah:
"See, I have refined you, but not with silver; I have chosen you in the furnace of
affliction" (Isaiah 48:10 MEV).
I would have
loved it if God had rephrased some of this. "I
have tested you in the sauna of the spa experience," for example,
would have been nice.
In the book of
Esther, we read: "Before a girl's turn came to go in to King Xerxes, she had to
complete twelve months of beauty treatments" (Esther 2:12 NIV).
I have told my husband he would
have an Esther too if I could go through a year's worth of beauty treatments.
But alas, just like Esther, we are
not defined by who we are in the spa. We are defined by who we are in the fire.
Many years ago, I was given a
portion of an amethyst geode.
The outside is gnarled and rusty.
Looking at it, you would never guess that it encases pristine purple crystal
formations.
Nothing on the outside of the geode
betrays even a hint of the beauty on the inside.
The outside tells the story of the
heat and the pressure, but the inside reveals what beauty has been born of this
encounter with fire.
Most gemstones are mined. This
means they are forged in a hidden environment of pressure before they are ever
unearthed and brought into the light.
In the same way, you and I hold
much beauty and worth. But we must be willing to face some heat in order to
allow the treasure inside to come through.
There is something of beauty to be
learned from every dark and lonely place in our lives.
It is in those times of obedience
during suffering that we have an opportunity to experience our Father as more
than enough.
Out of the rough material of our
trials, He is more than willing to fashion objects of beauty.
The Bible tells us that Jesus
endured the cross for the joy set before Him.
In our trials, large or small, it
is crucial that we allow joy to be set before us.
Are you facing some pressure today?
Do you believe God is ready to take
the pain and frustration and make it an object of beauty? If so, let's pray
together.
"Heavenly
Father, I come to You in the name of Jesus. By the power of Your Holy Spirit, I
ask You to take the rocks in my life and make them objects of beauty. Have Your
way, Father. Purify me and bring forth what is precious with Your holy fire.
Give me Your eyes to see and the faith to receive Your promise of beauty and
strength in every season. In Jesus' Name, Amen."
Would you want God
to change your life?
God has made it possible for you to know Him and experience
an amazing change in your own life through a relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ, and
have eternal life.
Say the following
prayer:
“Father God, I confess I am a sinner and my sins have separated me
from You.
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Lisa Bevere is an international speaker,
best-selling author, and co-founder of Messenger International. In her transparent style, Lisa
shares God's Word woven with personal experiences to empower lives with freedom
and transformation. Her heart breaks over social injustice. As an advocate for
change, she rallies others to be an answer to desperate problems near and far.
Lisa begins her days with mochas and ends them laughing around the dinner
table. Lisa lives in Colorado Springs with the love of her life, author and
speaker John Bevere, and their family. For more about Lisa, check out her
website at LisaBevere.com.
If you want to dive deeper into
this topic, you can check out my book Fight Like a Girl: The Power of Being a Woman.
http://www.charismamag.com/spirit/spiritual-growth/26129-who-you-are-in-the-fire-is-who-you-are
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