Stretching… God’s way!

Hahahaha… what a funny name for a post huh? I bet the first thing you thought of was getting ready for a workout. Maybe you envisioned a runner getting ready for a run or sprinter getting ready for a short sprint…

Whatever your first vision was the stretching I am referring to is quite a bit different. Yes, it sometimes hurts (makes you ill at times), it sometimes pulls the muscles a bit and makes you uncomfortable, but it’s much more of a spiritual stretching than a literal physical stretching.

I won’t lie, its hard! I don’t like it, its not fun, its difficult to say the least, I mean in all reality it hurts; but, its the most wonderful place to be spiritually! When God begins to stretch you there is no doubt your on the right track!

I came home tonight to find an e-mail from a friend that struck home with me and really stirred this up in me. In the e-mail it spoke on Malachi 3:3 And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver… Now this isn’t the full scripture but this is what I want to focus on…

He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver… now think about this… In the e-mail the writer speaks on the process of refining silver. I took the liberty of researching it myself and that is what I will share with you.

Upon researching I discovered that silver has the highest optical reflectivity which basically means it has an unbelievable reflection. This means that a reflection seen in silver is much clearer than a reflection seen in other metals… You see as God begins to burn those impurities out of us, His reflection becomes clearer in our lives… He can see Himself in us and so can all those around us.

Notice that He sits as a refiner, He always has his eye on us! He will never give us more than we can handle during the refining process! Though the fire may be hot, God is sitting right there with you watching as every second goes by. He will never leave you in the fire longer than you need to be and He will always pull you out right on time!

I want to share with you some other things I pulled from this scripture… First, God is the refiner! Let’s look at what the word refine means:

1. To reduce to a pure state; purify.

2. To remove by purifying.

3. To free from coarse, unsuitable, or immoral characteristics.

You see God desires to refine us. He desires to free us from unsuitable, immoral characteristics… the thing is, He is the ONLY ONE who can do that. He sometimes has to take us through something to break us through something or to break us of something. We carry to many things in our lives that we just aren’t supposed to carry. Past hurts, habits, bad morals, views, unforgiveness, hates and so on and so forth.That brings me to the purifier He is. Let’s look at what purify means:

1. To rid of impurities; cleanse.

2. To rid of foreign or objectionable elements.

3. To free from sin, guilt, or other defilement.

In order for God to take us where He wants to take us, He has to purify our hearts in the fire. He has to go into every dark place in you! No matter how many locks you have on a specific spot in your life, until you allow God to unlock it and burn it up, it will continue to drag you down and keep you from the full promise God has for your life.

Now hear me when I say this, the enemy will attempt to drag you down because of your past. He will throw things in your face and tell you your not good enough. The enemy will sometimes use other people to bring you down too. The enemy will have them remind you of your past and he will have them throw your past in your face. Don’t fall for the lie! God is purifying and refining you and when people begin to do this to you YOUR IN THE RIGHT SPOT!!!!

Now to bring this all back to where I began, stretching! Let me share with you the definition of stretching as referred to in this writing:

1. To become lengthened, widened, or distended.

2. To extend or enlarge beyond the usual or proper limits.

3. To expand in order to fulfill a larger function.

WOW! I love the last definition of stretch… You see God has a bigger picture in mind when He refines and purifies you! He has to stretch you so that He can fulfill a larger function in the body of Christ! During the refining process He will extend you beyond your usual and proper limits. He knows just how far He can take you to bring you into the place He desires for you to be! It may hurt, it may be uncomfortable, it may be painful at times, your not gonna like it in most cases but understand it is all part of growing! It’s a good place to be as difficult as it may be at the time, the reward is so great!

So I encourage you today, if you find yourself in the fire, stretched beyond what you believe to be your boundaries, REJOICE because God has His hand on you and He is about to pull you from the fire, refined and purified reflecting His glorious image!

Be blessed and be a blessing!

Tracy

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