Sing to the Lord - What is Burning?

The Lord speaks to us through His living Word, with His still small voice, in dreams and visions, through signs and wonders. And at times, through the songs that we sing. 


Pour out Your fire
Set me ablaze
I wanna burn for you
Lord hear my cry
Reignite me again
I wanna burn for you.

What comes to your mind when you read these words, I wonder? 

This is the lyric to the song, Pour Out Your Fire. You can listen to it here. 


When this song is sung, it is usually sung in the context of offering our life as a living sacrifice to God. 

Literally as in I wanna burn (like a sacrifice offered to You) for You.


For some time now, every time I sang this song, I would sing it with a haunting feeling of guilt arising inside of me, cause I felt like I haven't offered/ sacrificed enough of myself. I knew it to be a lie from the enemy, as there is no condemnation in Christ but I just couldn't shake it off, at least not while singing the words to the song.

This is one of the songs I (sadly) could not sing wholeheartedly.


Until few Sundays ago, I saw this image while singing this chorus part of the song. 

An image of fire burning, impurities and dross burning off and melting inside of it. 

Source: Internet

I couldn't see what was burning - whether it was gold or silver (you know, like how we read it in the Bible - God sitting as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness. Mal 3:3) or if it was something else. 


I saw only fire. And impurities melting and disappearing away.

In that same moment that the image came, I suddenly was able to sing with my whole heart and mean every word from my heart.

Pour out Your fire, set me ablaze, reignite me, I wanna burn for You.



What freedom and joy to receive this revelation - What needed burning was, not me myself but, my impurities, which is simply any thing in me that does not yet conform to Christ. Any dross that is not from and not of my Lord. 

Now when I sing this song, I mean it. (Yes, I can mean it wholeheartedly now 😅)

I want to burn for my Christ. I ask Him to pour out His refining fire, reignite me daily, set me ablaze in Him.


In the image that I saw, the thing that was being burned, that underwent refining (which would be me), was as one with the fire that burns. 

And the fire keeps burning until all that is impure is burned off. 


I knew it to mean that the Lord is continually refining and sanctifying me. Yes, He has burned off quite a fair bit of chaff and dross in me but there is still some more. So, there will still be some more burning to be done.

Yet at the same time, He also showed me that the burning is not painful. That image came with such peace and joy, with no hint of struggle or fear. 

And that 'thing' that is being subjected to the burning in the fire (me) was completely unharmed. 

The Lord's work in us does not have to be painful. The world and the devil has painted a picture of an angry Father punishing His children to discipline them to be good. And as a result, the children are suffering and enduring, in a sense. But does it really have to be so? 

Yes, it's true, the disciplining may not be pleasant. And one may not enjoy it. But then again, wouldn't you agree that when we embrace His correction/ discipline/ pruning/ refining/ sanctification (whatever you may want to call it), that process becomes more pleasant and, more importantly, shorter? 


Beloved in Christ, 

I dare say, one can be fear-less and pain-less when going through refining. 

What is burning right now, brothers and sisters? 

Do we feel the heat and discomfort of the fire, or do we feel the warmth and joy of what it brings? Are we resisting the fire and what it can do for us, or are we embracing it fully, wholly willing and yielded?

Popular posts from this blog

Motherhood - Part 4 (Crucifying that Ideal)

Image
Now I wrote about the children's Mother's Day performance story  previously.   If you've read it, you would have known that while my daughter performed with the rest of the Sunday school children for Mother's Day, my son was nervous and chose to join us at the seats.  At the time, he was saddened that he didn't go up to perform. To which we have encouraged him to try again for Father's Day, which is today.  I also wrote about dying to my 'ideal'  here.   The Lord gently showed me how I had made an idol out of my ideal and gave me a renewed revelation on denying my 'self'.  Now why do I mention these 2 posts here, you wonder.  It's because today, on Father's Day, I was tempted to give in to my ideal (again).  Few Sundays ago, the children started their practice for Father's Day.  This time, we were more deliberate with our effort in encouraging Daniel to go on-stage.  Even motivating (more like bribing 😂) him with a reward to go on-st
Read more

Motherhood - Part 1 (Dying to Self)

Image
Mother's Day this year came and passed.  10th year being a mother and I can't say I've done a great job at it, but neither am I too bad at it. I am, to put it simply, a mother to the 2 children given to me from the Lord. Nothing more, nothing less.  The week before Mother's Day, I was filled with a sense of 'inadequacy' in the area of motherhood. And I couldn't help but to feel a little down on some moments. Especially after I got upset or angry at my children and reacted rather 'unmotherly' towards them.  On those days, I felt 'guilt'. I felt 'lack'. And that thing called 'train of thoughts' inside my mind took a train track down the path called 'worry lane'.  Along the 'worry lane', the train stopped at each train station.  How is Daniel doing compared to other kids his age?  How will Daniel's future look like?  Have I done enough to prepare/ train my Daniel for future?  How will he fare after we, his par
Read more

Reflection from Daniel - Nebuchadnezzar

Image
As I read about Nebuchadnezzar in the book of Daniel, I kept thinking of these words:  The frailty of man.  Read Nebuchadnezzar's story in the first 3 chapters of Daniel and let me know if you're not jaw dropped at the double-mindedness of this man.  Here are just some snippets from Daniel.  2:47 The king answered Daniel, and said, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets , since you could reveal this secret.” 3:15 Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands ?”  3:26 Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God , come out, and c
Read more