I can’t believe that FMA starts in less than a month. I think this is gonna be a significant season for me. I don’t really have a grid for what to expect but I always know the Lord has cool things up His sleeves when I feel that way. I am really excited but I also feel like this might be a more challenging season than the others.
Since the summer when I attended the School of Worship in Oregon, the Lord has been speaking to me about being refined in the fire. Mostly from Malachi 3:3-4 which is:
“He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. Then the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in the former years.”
At the School of Worship, Don Potter talked about this a couple times and pointed out that when the Lord comes to refine, He comes to the Levites first, to the ones in the place of worship. And you see that in this verse because then in verse 5 the Lord says that “then” (after that) He will draw near for judgement. And Don was just really putting out that invitation and call to say yes to the Lord’s refining as worship leaders, singers, and musicians. And ever since then, I just can’t get away from this. I’ve been praying this ever since…and aware of what that means. I think sometimes when we talk about stuff like being in a season of refining and the wilderness we give this negative connotation to it as if we wouldn’t want to be in it. I know I have done that a lot anyways. But lately I’ve been trying to view it differently because it’s like, do we want to stay the same? I just don’t want to stay the same, I don’t want to be okay with where I’m at. I feel like there’s this preparation that needs to happen inside of me and I wanna say yes to the flame as much as I can. Now I know that could mean some challenging things are ahead. Refining and wilderness type things are hard but I’m just asking the Lord for grace to embrace whatever He has for me this season. I know it’s to bring me forth as gold, to buy gold refined in the fire and I want all that He has.
When I visited FMA for the day with a friend recently, one of the students got up and shared a word He felt like the Lord gave Him for the school. The gist of it if I can remember it right was that he felt like the Lord told him that He’s set a furnace before them this next semester and that it’s our choice to step in. Yeah. Needless to say I was like, “well that about confirms that I’m supposed to be here even more” lol. That being said, I think a lot of this refining will take place while being in FMA so if you think of me, please send up some incense for me, I always need it.
Like I said, I don’t really know what this is gonna look like but I’m just saying yes now. And praying for grace for whatever lies ahead. I know I can’t make it through on my own strength but it’s gotta be His so I think it’ll be a season of learning to lean more and more into my Beloved and my Father.
“Take me through the fire, take me through the rain, take me through the testing, I’ll do anything. Test me, try me, prove me, refine me like the gold, like the gold…” (Misty Edward’s “Fling Wide”)
