Coals of Fire: Purified for God's Purpose

"Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?" - Jeremiah 23:29 (KJV)

In the quiet corners of ancient forests, a transformation occurs that speaks profoundly to the work of God in our lives. Woodcutters gather logs and stack them carefully, covering the pile with earth, leaving only small vents for air. They set the wood ablaze, and then they wait. For days, the fire smolders, not in open flames, but in an intense, oxygen-starved burn. When the process is complete, what emerges is not ash, but something far more valuable - charcoal.

This, beloved, is the image our Lord would have us understand about His refining work in our lives. We are not meant to be consumed by the fires of trials, but transformed by them. As the prophet Malachi declared, "He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver" (Malachi 3:3, KJV). Our God is not content to leave us as we are, with all our impurities and volatility. Instead, He seeks to make us into "coals of fire" - purified, consistent, and useful for His divine purpose.

Consider the nature of charcoal. Unlike raw wood, it burns without smoke, provides consistent heat, and can reach temperatures high enough to melt metal. How like this our Lord would have us be! No longer giving off the smoke of our own agendas or inconsistencies, but burning with a steady flame of devotion and purpose, capable of melting the hardest hearts around us.

But oh, the process of becoming such a coal! It requires a surrender to the intense heat of God's refining fire, a willingness to be placed in circumstances where we feel starved of comfort, of ease, of all that we think we need. It demands patience as we smolder in situations we don't understand, trusting the Master Craftsman who oversees our transformation.

"Maybe you're suffering because your volatility is being burnt out," the Spirit whispers to our hearts. "But maybe you're suffering because you're 'coals on the head' of someone hard who needs to be melted." How this challenges our perspective on trials! No longer do we see difficulties merely as personal inconveniences, but as opportunities for God to work both in us and through us.

Consider the grilling of a fine steak. The meat is placed upon hot coals, and as it cooks, its fats and oils drip down. On an impure fire, these drippings cause flare-ups, tainting the meat with the taste of smoke and flame. But on the pure, hot coals of a well-prepared fire, these drippings are vaporized instantly, returning to the meat as pure flavor. So it is with our lives and service. When we have been purified, the challenges and pressures of life and ministry no longer cause us to flare up in anger, frustration, or self-pity. Instead, these pressures are transformed into a purer expression of God's love and power through us.

In our prayer life, too, this refinement shows its effect. No longer do we offer up prayers tainted with the smoke of our own desires and agendas. Instead, like the pure incense offered in the tabernacle, our prayers rise as a sweet aroma before the Lord. "When we pray," the Spirit instructs us, "it's got to be what God has given us. The words that God has given us. Not our own."

This is not to say that we cannot bring our desires before the Lord. Indeed, we are invited to cast all our cares upon Him. But we come to see prayer not as a means of imposing our will upon the universe, but of aligning our hearts with God's purposes. We begin to understand prayer as offering "amendments" to our life situations, always with the humble recognition that God, in His infinite wisdom, has the final vote.

The journey to becoming a coal of fire is ongoing. Even Moses, after years of refinement in the wilderness, had a moment of volatility when he struck the rock in anger. This serves not to discourage us, but to remind us of our constant need for God's purifying work. We are ever in need of His grace, ever dependent on His refining fire.

But take heart, beloved! This refinement, though at times painful, is evidence of God's loving attention. "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth," the scripture tells us, "and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth" (Hebrews 12:6, KJV). Each trial, each difficulty, is an opportunity to have more of our volatility burned away, to become a purer vessel for God's use.

As we yield to this process, we find our capacity for spiritual understanding and experience expanding. Like the progression of the cherubim's wings - from two in the tabernacle, to four in Ezekiel's vision, to six in John's Revelation - we find ourselves able to soar to new heights in God, to serve Him more fully, to know Him more deeply.

Beloved, where do you find yourself today? Are you in the heat of God's refining fire, feeling the burn of circumstances you don't understand? Take heart and surrender to the process. Are you emerging from a trial, feeling purged and refined? Give thanks, and offer yourself as a pure instrument for God's use. Are you sensing the need for further refinement? Invite the Holy Spirit to continue His purifying work in you.

Let us be a people who embrace God's refining fire, who willingly submit to the process of becoming coals of fire for His glory. May we burn steadily with His love, ready to be used to warm cold hearts, to melt hardened wills, to spark revival in a world desperate for God's touch. For in the end, this is our highest calling - to be so purified by God's fire that when He breathes upon us, we ignite with His purpose, bringing His light and heat to a dark and cold world.

Let us pray:

Heavenly Father, Master Refiner, we come before You with hearts open to Your purifying work. We confess that too often we have resisted Your refining fire, fearing the pain of transformation. Forgive us, Lord, for clinging to our impurities, for allowing the smoke of our own agendas to taint our service to You.

We invite You now to continue Your refining work in us. Burn away all volatility, all self-seeking, all that is not of You. Make us into those coals of fire that can be used to bring warmth to the coldest heart, to melt the most hardened will. Purify our prayers, that they might rise as sweet incense before Your throne. Refine our service, that it might consistently reflect Your love and power.

Grant us the grace to see our trials as opportunities for refinement. When we are in the heat of difficult circumstances, remind us that You are at work, not only in us but through us. May we embrace each challenge as a chance to have more of our impurities burned away, to become more effective instruments in Your hands.

Expand our spiritual capacity, Lord. Like those cherubim with ever-increasing wings, may we soar to new heights in our understanding and experience of You. Breathe upon the coals of our hearts, igniting us with Your purpose and passion.

We surrender ourselves anew to Your refining process. Have Your way in us, Lord. Make us those pure, consistent, powerful coals of fire that can be used to bring revival to our world. May our lives be a testimony to Your transforming power, drawing others to the warmth of Your love.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

"And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him." - Malachi 3:17 (KJV)