Pruning and Burning Tests

UV 1560/10000 Pruning and Burning Tests
The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.
Nahum 1 v 7

A spiritual stronghold is built on a belief on who God is or who we believe Him to be. On that foundation of belief is built, a series of thoughts, emotions, responses, words, actions and reactions. The Lord’s goodness is our source of strength. His complete goodness makes Him the most reliable and most effective source of help in our trials and troubles. We can confide in Him everything and anything. He is our recourse and resort, our refuge and shelter in the day of trouble. He is our comfort and counsellor. He becomes our stronghold when we place our trust in Him and His Word. Prayer and the Word are the shadows of the Almighty that are stronger than rock for rock can be drilled, cut through, blasted and shattered but not the power of prayer and the Word. These two channelize the strength and power of God in a quiet undemonstrative way to leaders and people who completely believe the Lord and trust Him to come to their help in days of trouble. The words “ day of trouble” shows that are testing times for leadership, for anyone who trusts in the Lord in order to prove and further strengthen our faith and deepen our relationship with the Lord.


But if our trust is complete and true, we will not wait for trouble to erupt before we turn to the Lord and pour out our hearts. We will continually communicate and resort to Him. He is not just the Rock but the fortress built on the Rock foundation. He is not just the fortress but He is the conqueror, the deliverer , the master of the fortress. He is not just the master, He is the buckler, the one who defends us with His sword, the Word. He is the high tower that shields us. He is the horn of salvation that proclaims victory for us in every situation and test. Yet His goodness cannot be taken for granted. We need to continually seek His wisdom and guidance. He cannot turn a blind eye to what is offensive in our lives. He needs to discipline us as a parent would a mischievous or rebellious child. If the Lord is not our stronghold, then other evil strongholds take a grip on our lives with a design to weaken, disempower and rob us of our power and potential. These strongholds build a nest in our minds and lives, twig by twig as a bird builds its nest.

He knows the quality of our faith, the extent, the depth. He knows our strengths, weaknesses, our fears and doubts, our desires and hopes. No man can exceed the limits of his strengths and weaknesses unless He seeks and secures the help of the Lord. For the Lord, SWOT means Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Tests. In our areas of strengths, He will show us our limits. In our areas of weaknesses, He will show us His strengths. He will give us grace to utilise opportunities that He sends our way. He will not let us be tested beyond our strength. From every test, we have a testimony of God’s goodness, help and blessing. With every test, those who truly trust Him will emerge better and not bitter. The Lord uses His deep and intimate knowledge of our inner selves to determine what tests and troubles we can withstand and endure, what will break us and make us or re-make us. The more we yield to His Spirit and trust His Word, the less stubborn and resistant to change we are, the less He has to work on us from inside. There are pruning tests and burning tests. He prunes us with tests, troubles and trials like an expert gardener so that no permanent damage is done but we get to bear more fruit. Sometimes, He takes us through a furnace of trials. The burning or furnace tests are the greatest tests of a person’s faith- disease, terrible accidents, bereavement, financial loss, break up of relationships. At a national scale, persecution, famines, drought, wars and pestilence are burning tests for large numbers of people. The good thing about the burning tests is that the Lord is closest to us during these times. He preserves us from complete burn-out with the clothing of His presence, comfort and strength. Since we are in a covenant relationship with the Lord, we can always pray, “ Lord, please send me pruning tests, if You will but not burning tests.”

Prateep V Philip