Be still in your weakness
Finding strength in a whisper
The breath of God gently blows upon the soul
Igniting ashes to fire once again
It’s the art of refinement
a beautiful surrender of deep pain
As love and light break through our walls
Surfacing lies to burn in His flame
On our knees we find refuge
It’s here our souls are continually refined
And when the trumpet sounds at last
We will stand fully in our true design
Sometimes I start a painting from a picture or vision I have seen in my head. Other times, like this one, I had no idea what was about to be born onto the canvas.
But in a time of creative worship, I just began by putting down the colors I felt God showing me in my spirit.
As I began to paint, I started to see fire, knowing this fire that I was painting was a good, refining fire. A fire that still burns, but burns with the purpose of purification.
After a while, I began to see an eagle- coming out of this fire, like the phoenix.
In several Scriptures of the Bible, God is referred to as an “Eagle,” or having Eagle-like characteristics. It is the bird that flies higher than any other bird and can see its prey from miles away because of its sharp eyesight.
Psalms 91 says, “He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge” (NIV).
In the light beneath the eagle’s wing, I saw a girl coming forth in the light—in freedom.
God is spirit, and “where the spirit of the Lord is, there is Freedom” (2 Cor 3:17, ESV, emphasis added).
“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:18, NIV).
To me, this every-increasing glory comes from our walks of faith. Often, this faith may take us right through the hottest part of fire—and we may feel as if we are standing in hell itself.
Faith is seen not with the eyes of our head, or even from the understanding of our minds, but it is seen and felt with the eyes of our hearts.
When we are in the fire, we may be tempted to forget our faith, and some may lose it altogether. But I don’t believe faith is something that can be lost. Faith is something that is planted deep within the soul of every human being, as we are all made in the image of our Creator, by His hands. I think, like a plant, we can stop watering our faith, or it can be scorched in the heat of the fire; but the roots are still there—even if they are buried deep within.
It’s faith that tells us that God uses all things for His glory (Romans 8:28). As we are made to reflect the glory of God, let us not lose our faith through the fire, but embrace the flames, knowing that there is even more glory and goodness to come from it.
Allow God to use the fire to be one that brings refinement, instead of letting it end with destruction.
God’s plan is always bigger, and just like a phoenix, we will rise like the eagle, reborn from the ashes once again.
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on sarahcamillesi.com
Featured Image by chuttersnap