…That’s it really. Truth comes from going through the fire.
Well maybe not ALL truth but I think there’s a whole lot of things that you don’t understand until you’ve been through the heat of the moment and you go “oh, THAT’S why God said that in His word…” It’s like Psalm 12:6 which says that the word of the Lord is like silver, refined in the furnace seven times (my semi-paraphrase). I realise now that perhaps that can apply to the word IN US, when the word is being made flesh in us it comes out more and more as we go through the trials that come upon us.
I know that I receive far more when I listen to someone sharing the word, who has been through the furnace of working and living for God, rather than someone who just expounds principles from Scripture. Principles aren’t bad but when you hear them from the lips of one who has lived them right through it has much more impact. Jackie Pullinger would be one such speaker, who when you hear her share the word, you KNOW she’s been through the stuff and can testify that the Lord really is faithful to His word.
If I had to choose between an oak-panelled study or the battlefield for my learning of truth, following a pioneer like Jesus, I’d choose the battlefield…
Ben David Trigg 