The other day I read a story online & I just had to share it here.
𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚂𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢:
𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚙 𝚘𝚏 𝚠𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚍𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚘𝚏 𝙼𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚒 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙾𝚕𝚍 𝚃𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝. 𝙰𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚍𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟹, 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚌𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚌𝚛𝚘𝚜𝚜 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚎 𝟹, 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚜𝚊𝚢𝚜: "𝙷𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚜𝚒𝚝 𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚛𝚎𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚏𝚒𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚟𝚎𝚛." 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚎 𝚙𝚞𝚣𝚣𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚠𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚈𝙷𝚅𝙷. 𝙾𝚗𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗 𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚌𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚛𝚎𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚙 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚗𝚎𝚡𝚝 𝙱𝚒𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚍𝚢.
𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚔, 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚞𝚙 𝚊 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚖𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔. 𝚂𝚑𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚌𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚌𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚛𝚎𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚟𝚎𝚛. 𝙰𝚜 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚖𝚒𝚝𝚑, 𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚍 𝚊 𝚙𝚒𝚎𝚌𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚕𝚎𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚞𝚙. 𝙷𝚎 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚛𝚎𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚟𝚎𝚛, 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚒𝚍𝚍𝚕𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚕𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚜𝚝 - 𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚞𝚛𝚗 𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚎𝚜.
𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚈𝙷𝚅𝙷 𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚞𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚜𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚊 𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚝 - 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝙼𝚊𝚕 𝟹:𝟹 - 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝙷𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚛𝚎𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚏𝚒𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚟𝚎𝚛. 𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚜𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚖𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚒𝚏 𝚘𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚛𝚎𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚍. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚜𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍"𝚢𝚎𝚜" 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚒𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚟𝚎𝚛, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚔𝚎𝚎𝚙 𝚑𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚎. 𝙸𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚕𝚎𝚏𝚝 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚊 𝚖𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚕𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚜, 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚋𝚎 𝚍𝚊𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚍.
𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊 𝚖𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝. 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚜𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚖𝚒𝚝𝚑: "𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚍𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚛𝚎𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚍?" 𝙷𝚎 𝚜𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚜𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍: "𝙾𝚑, 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝'𝚜 𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚢. 𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝙸 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚖𝚢 𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚝."
On our journey with Christ, we need to seek His face. But what most of us don't like to hear is that His fire percedes His face. It's on the journey of seeking His face, that the Father will take us through the fire. To purify & sanctify us from anything and everything that's not according to His will & His ways.
A couple of months ago, I earnestly seeked the Father's face. Day after day asked Him to place me in the fire and to strip away everything that's not His will for my life. And man oh man, did He strip me.
What's important in the midst of the fire, is to remember Who is with you in that fire. Even though the fire is heated 7 times, you will not be scorched. It's in the fire where Father can reveal His heart to us, where we get spiritual revelations and experience the hidden treasures of seeking Him.
If we don't go through the fire ourselves, all we'll end up with is the second hand revelations that those received who were willing to go through the fire. And yes, we can & should definitely learn from one another. But God has something in store for each one of us. And if we don't willingly enter the fire and seek Him ourselves - we'll miss out on our portion!
Just like silver, the fire is a good place to be. It's in the fire where we will learn more about the Father. But it's also in the fire where we will become more like Him, sculpted into His image!