At the start of every year, I ask the Lord for one verse
that will speak of the upcoming year. It’s not really a resolution, just a way
for God to show me His. For the past two years, it has really been an
encouragement as I can look back over the year and see God’s faithfulness.
This year, I was really curious to see what the Lord would
speak about. Toward the end of December, I kept learning things about God
through fire. Verses like “Our God is a consuming fire,” or “Love is a
consuming fire,” would continually come to mind. Somehow, though, God assured
me that there was more to this idea and more He wanted to teach me in the verse
He would give me. Shortly before the New Year, I had a dream where I knew I was
supposed to remember the gold and silver that a woman was wearing. When I woke
up, I put the gold and silver together with the fire and was reminded of all
the verses where God illustrates His desire to purify His people and make them
more like Himself by using fire.
It also reminded me of a question that Gary Black, our
squad’s coach, asked at the start of the Race in the Philippines in October. He read 1
Corinthians 3:12-13a, “If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver,
costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, his work will be shown for what it is,
because the Day will bring it to light.” He then asked, “How far do you want to
go for God? Do you want to go for the costly stones, the silver or the gold?”
Of course, in my heart, soul, and mind, like a naïve girl, I told God I wanted
gold. I wanted to be sold out for Him.
Um…He listened and it’s because of His love that He gave me
the verse for the year from Zechariah 13:9, “This third I will bring into the
fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on
my name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will
say, ‘The Lord is our God.'” While it is a very challenging verse, assuring me
of testing and trial, I am encouraged that God will bring me through it, I will
be more like Him and I will be drawn closer to Him through it all.
