“The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. And I will give him the morning star.”
The sense of being peeled and exposed ready for our fruit to be consumed and used is a very real one in the moment.
We are under the wine press of Jesus and therefore can have a confidence that we are on a consuming journey.
He is the consuming fire.
It is sometimes necessary to burn what was past so that instead of looking back and hanging on we let go and fully move forward into the new which ultimately is always better.
It nevertheless can be a lonely, exhausting place because what we thought we knew and positioned our bearings by is no longer there.
There is a grieving loss of a season and of ourselves.
New identities and anointing are coming although we feel challenged on every front.
It is when we no longer know what to do to move forward that we are most likely to yield and become malleable to be fashioned anew.
It is a divine, purposeful disorientation that hopefully we will find peace from when we recognise it and allow Him to be our compass.
Though step by step it may feel like walking through fire we are being refined as we proceed. As such we are equipped to mirror image Him.
We are used to looking for immediate gratification and reward whereas in the kingdom Reward is in Christ in eternity.
“The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.”
We have to be tested to be overcomers. There will be a level of pain and suffering, but this is temporary.
This is why we need an eternal mindset not a temporal. There can still be a joy in thee narrow way and not having all the answers.
God is more invested in our journey than the destination. Maybe loss is part of the success of tomorrow.
God sets us up to depend on Him. We can be imprisoned and disappointed by expectation.
Failure is a gift to then know success. Even the good failing leads onto a path to get great and not settle for the lesser.
In hindsight we may give our biggest thanks for our biggest disappointments.
God is a consuming fire. Burning is destructive but necessary for new to be given.
The illustration shows us as the fruit peeled and being pressed making the new wine. Going through the refiners fire and light emanating to push back the darkness.
Two Scriptures that come to mind :
“The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.”Revelation 3:21 ESV
“The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. And I will give him the morning star.” Revelation 2:26-28 ESV
The song Broken Vessels. Hillsong
Lessisgreater 