Zarephath- A Season of Refining

 

"Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you." 1 Kings 17:9

In my previous posts, I have been speaking on "Seasons". Last post I wrote about our season at Cherith- which means  "separation", "cutting off". Sometimes God has us go through a season when we have to totally depend on Him for all our needs. God sent Elijah to the brook Cherith ( 1 Kings 17), where he was totally dependent on God to provide food, water and safety. After a period of time, God then sent Elijah to the town of Zarephath, where a widow woman would care for him.

Zarephath  means "refinery" from the root word to test or prove true. God was preparing Elijah for the great miracle at Mount Carmel, where fire fell from heaven and burned up the offering and everything around it- to display God's power and to prove that He was the only True God, as opposed to Baal and all the other false gods. Elijah had to go through these processes to be used mightily of God.

Now, God may not be preparing us for such a great display of His power- or- is He? We don't know. But if we have any desire to be used of God in a small or great way, there are seasons that we must go through, seasons that will refine us, prove and test us. At Cherith, it was a season of isolation in which Elijah became more intimately acquainted with God. It was there that he established his relationship with the Lord Almighty, totally depending on Him for his needs. Now at Zarephath, he was going to be refined. When metals are put into a refining furnace, the heat brings to the surface all the alloys that will hinder the metal from being the most precious that it can be. The refiner skims all that dross off the top and keeps the heat up until he can see his reflection in the molten ore. Elijah was being refined and purged and pruned during this time. All pride and self-centeredness must be totally eradicated from his soul in order for him to be able to perform the task which was coming up- Mount Carmel- and the display of God's great power against idolatry and false religion. He had to be a proven man before God could use him. No, Elijah was not perfect, but he was being perfected as He continued to enrich his relationship with the Lord and allow the refining process to take place.

We all go through these times if we have any desire to be used of God. He will not allow self to take center stage. He will not allow pride and self -centeredness to dominate us. We must be allowing the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us. And when He see His reflection is us, that will be the time to move us into that position that He has ordained us.

You may not have a Mount Carmel experience where you call down fire from heaven. But then again, who can really know what God has in store for us? Whether it is a great task He has in store for us, or just being a witness to those around us, we still must go through that refining process. To God, He sees it as great as He did with Elijah! We may find ourselves going through that refiner's fire, the purging process- where all pride and self preservation is destroyed in our lives. 

If you are in a season of refining, purging and testing- be of good courage! God only allows us to go through these seasons so that we will be prepared for what He has for us. The purging and refining qualify us to move from one level onto the next- from glory to glory (2Corinthians 3:18). We can't stay the same. I heard a person say one time- "there is no coasting in God." And this is true. We are either moving forward or we are sliding backwards. In order to go forward in God in must allow Him to do the work inside of us. During this time we must remember that God only allows us to go through circumstances in order to perfect our character. God chooses the particular trial, that special circumstance, that He knows will bring about the result that He wants to see in us. Let Him do the work in you. If you are constantly striving against what God is doing, you will never move on in your walk with the Lord and you never be that effective Christain that would be a witness to the world or do those great deeds for Christ. Just- be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10) - and allow Him to do what He wills within you. You will never regret it!

"But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."

2 Corinthians 3:18

~Donna