Refined & Ready

He makes me as surefooted 

as a deer, 

enabling me to stand on 

mountain heights. 

2 Samuel 22:34

Schooling & training can be tough, even brutal. Anyone that has been to any sort of college, training, boot camp or internship can probably agree. There are moments that are so tough that it's easy to throw in the towel. The temptation to leave and give up is real! But, these moments are the very thing that refine us and train us to do what it is we are there to learn. It's training through fire and it's not for the faint of heart! 

This is why graduation day is so special for so many people. They have persevered and have come out on the other side, ready to take to the heights!

"School of Jesus" feels about the same way. haha. He loves us so much and has great plans for us, and all of us who follow Him know this: He trains through fire. Fire that refines our faith. Fire that teaches us to trust Him. Fire that shows us, more than anything else, that He is God. He is who He says He is and He can be fully trusted. His schooling teaches us and equips us to fully accomplish God's will in our lives. His schooling changes us from the inside-out. 

This morning's entry with the Lord felt like a letter from a proud father to his graduating child. And how proud our Father is of us! He has healed us and made us strong. He has trained us to trust Him. Yes, everything up to this point was just training! And He knows we are now ready. 'He has made us as surefooted as a deer, enabling us to stand on mountain heights!' (2 Samuel 22:34)

Here is this morning's raw entry:

 

I'm opening a door to you that has been sealed until now. It has been kept shut because it was not yet the time. But time is accelerating and pushing you forward now toward this door of breakthrough. And you will break through! And break free! from what has been tying you down. 

You have been like a calf in a stall that is now ready to be let out into the pasture! Oh and how beautiful you are as you leap! How everything is new to you! And how strong I have made your feet! For you will climb any mountain and forge any stream! You'll do it in My Name! You will GO and never retreat!

YES! I have made you strong and resilient and one who can weather storms. You'll look trials in the eyes and send them back to where they have come from! hahaha! Oh, how worth it it has been! The testing and the labor. The refining and the pruning -- all of this was My divine favor! For I have purified you Myself in the fire of My love. And you have come out spotless! A spotless Bride, My love!

***

“But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture. On the day when I act, you will tread upon the wicked as if they were dust under your feet,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

‭‭Malachi‬ ‭4‬:‭2‬-‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/116/mal.4.2-3.NLT

“He makes me as surefooted as a deer, enabling me to stand on mountain heights. 

He trains my hands for battle; he strengthens my arm to draw a bronze bow. You have given me your shield of victory; your help has made me great. You have made a wide path for my feet to keep them from slipping. 

‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭22‬:‭32‬-‭44‬ ‭NLT‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/116/2sa.22.32-44.NLT