After the PURGING comes the PROGNOSIS!
#5: PROGNOSIS: The Lord has a reason for our fiery trial. We may not know what it is, but HE DOES! He promised us in Romans 8:28 that ALL THINGS work together for our good. He doesn't want the end result to be HURT for us, but HELP! ".....when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee." Ish. 43:2b. How can we not be burned in the fire? The Lord keeps us, but there is one thing we can do to help us withstand the heat: stay wet!!! We can do so by keeping ourselves saturated with THE WORD! The Word is Water! "That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water, by THE WORD." Eph. 5:26. When the heat gets too hot for us, and we feel we can't take it anymore, we need to run to the LORD, rest in HIS SHADE, and surround ourselves with the WET SHIELD OF FAITH. Warriors in ancient times would shoot fiery arrows at the enemy. The soldiers would soak their shields in water to quench the fire on those arrows and protect themselves. We need to do the same spiritually. "ABOVE ALL, TAKING THE SHIELD OF FAITH, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked." Eph. 6:16. We need to defend ourselves against the fiery darts of Satan with the Word! Is this not what the Lord Jesus did in the wilderness when Satan came tempting HIM??? If we keep our hearts and minds wet with the Water of God's Word, we are less likely to get harmed by not keeping close to the Lord. "Great peace have they which love thy law and nothing shall offend (or hurt) them." Psalm 119:165. The Potter has HIS PLAN from start to finish, and He knows what the end result, or prognosis will be. He knows what vessel we will be when our time in the fire is over with. I Peter 1:7 & 8 say, "...though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and hour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. Whom having not seen ye love, in whom though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.." The Lord is working in the lives of His children to reveal HIS GLORY AND HONOUR IN US, as trophies of His Grace!! He knows what we DON'T!!!! All of our problems are being used by Him as a testimony to us AND the World that He is the Almighty! He WILL NOT leave us in the fire! There is an END! "MANY are the afflictions of the righteous, BUT THE LORD DELIVERETH HIM OUT OF THEM ALL!' Psalm 34:19. This is my favorite Bible Verse. Just as Ish. 43:2 says, we will WALK out of the fire. Not sit down, but WALK OUT!!!
Remember today that before the fire starts, the Lord gives us a PROMISE. Then comes the PROBLEM. The POTTER shows up in the fire WITH US! Then the Lord starts PURGING us. He knows the PROGNOSIS from the start. These are five things to remember while in the fire. Five is the number of GRACE in the Bible. Remember that we are surrounded by that Grace while it's hot!!
The Potter knows the Clay! May we let the Potter make us into His Design! The end result: " Being confident of this very thing, that He that hath begun a good work in you WILL PERFORM IT, until the day of Jesus Christ.:"
