It is amazing how the Lord sometimes emphasizes a truth to our hearts which may have seemed insignificant; but suddenly its importance is magnified in that moment when the Lord gives it emphasis. The Lord is now bringing a truth before us which has previously escaped our attention. Now it is suddenly magnified and we see it in the proper focus. It reveals what God is doing in His people, preparatory to a consecutive sequence of worldwide events that will come forth rapidly and establish the Kingdom of the Lord.
We must understand that He is getting to us first. When you were a child, did you play games with dominoes? I enjoyed lining them up in rows, then pushing one over and watching all the rest go down. With one push, they all fell over. This is a picture of what the Lord is doing. After He has completed His work within you, He has everything set up to bring forth judgment upon the whole world. But note the sequence in this. Until He knocks you down, nothing will happen; you are the first domino in the row. God is going to deal with you first. The Scripture bears this out.
We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater; therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure. This is a plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering. For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—for our testimony to you was believed. II Thessalonians 1:3–10. The Lord is going to deal out judgment to the world. He is the only one who can do it; but He must first deal with us.
If the Lord were to come on the scene suddenly and bring back the days of Ananias and Sapphira, no one would be left on the earth! Think of all the people who would drop dead—the people who have said one thing to God and done another. How often have you said one thing to the Lord in consecration, and later found yourself doing another? You would be in serious trouble if the Lord had restored the days of Ananias and Sapphira. He must continue to deal with you again and again; and finally when He has burned all the chaff out of your life, you will be part of a remnant that He can use to minister judgment to the rest of the world. That is only fair; otherwise, He would be a very unrighteous God, for He would be dealing with the world on one basis of judgment and with you on a completely different plane. Since He is not a respecter of persons, He must deal fairly with everyone (Acts 10:34). Consequently, He gives you an opportunity to go through the refining fire before the judgment fires appear on the earth. Aren’t you glad He is working that way?
When you believe and open your heart to Him completely and want nothing except Him, when there is nothing wrong in your spirit, then He will relieve you from your affliction, oppression, and persecution. When He has finished all of this and is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, then He will deal retribution to those who do not know God. This is the way it should be.
The Lord continues to speak to us, “Submit to the fire of God’s dealings; submit to it!” Open your heart to it and ask the Lord to burn out the chaff, to deal with your heart until there is nothing left to prevent you from doing His will. If you pray that sincerely, He will hear you. But if you are evasive and refuse the dealings of the Lord because you do not want the chastenings that come to you from His hands, then the Lord can be entreated to let you go your way. Yet what a tragedy it would be if God stopped His drastic dealings upon your heart! The feeling of being forsaken and the pressures under which you labor are designed to bring you to the end of human faith. He wants you to appropriate and move in His faith in every situation.
Let the Lord deal with you. Let the fire of the Lord move in your life. Submit everything you have to the fire. Let Him have the whole mess. Stop trying to be something you cannot be in the flesh, and ask the Lord for the gift of faith, so that by His grace you can truly believe Him and walk with Him. When you do this, you will come to the fires of God that judge, and in a moment of release you will begin to move in the grace of God.
This is what makes tigers out of kittens. It is not something they have in themselves; it is something that Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, puts in them. Because of a divine strength flowing into them, they become those who move forward and do the will of God. Abandon all hope in the flesh, but have steadfast hope in the divine nature He is bringing forth in you. Believe in His provision. It is ample and adequate, for He has provided all things that pertain to life and godliness (II Peter 1:3). He has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:3). Stop thinking defeat. Open your heart to everything that is available. Claim it. Claim it now, in the name of the Lord Jesus!