I will bring the one-third through the fire,
Will refine them as silver is refined,
And test them as gold is tested.
They will call on My name,
And I will answer them.
I will say, ‘This is My people’;
And each one will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’ Zechariah 13:9
The refining processes by God. It is worth the time researching the processes of refining silver and testing of gold. It is not an easy or quick process. Many of us who are seeking Him at deeper levels are required to go through more thorough refining processes. This means digging up even deeper issues of iniquities in our flesh nature that continue to hamper our walk with Christ. We will be required to admit our failures and surrender in humility looking to the Holy Spirit for guidance, healing, and help.
Roots of the flesh nature usually stem from three areas, pride, fear, and lust (discontentment). These roots lead to a myriad of issues that eventually spawn sin within our lives IF we don’t recognize the cancerous growth before it bursts forth with visible sin. The humble walk with the Holy Spirit will often deal with issues He wants you to curb and repent of – so that they won’t develop further causing all sorts of pain for us or others surrounding us. The sins of omission (not doing what you are supposed to do when He asked) are often exposed to the mature disciple of Christ by the Holy Spirit.
What is the Holy Spirit bringing to your mind in the areas you need to change? Are you asking Him how He wants you to deal with them? Is He giving you steps He wants you to take? Is He requiring another level of humility within you? Is He asking you to surrender more and more to His instructions?
Do you really want to know God more? The relationship you have with the Holy Spirit is the ONLY way to grow spiritually. Is the Holy Spirit leading you to scripture? Is He giving you a hunger for diving into more time in the written Word? Is He having you research passages in the written Word for more understanding?
Are you willing to go through the ‘fire’ for God, so that you can know Him more?
John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Luke 3:16