Heaven's Test Kitchen Part 1

The Prep Work

A couple of days ago I had a conversation with my cousin who runs an online bakery business. We were talking about the shortages with finding key ingredients for baking like flour, sugar, you know the basics. Because of the shortages, the baking had to be paused until supply lines open back up again. My cousin then mentioned something that I found to be really profound. During the course of baking a batch of cookies, some come out looking perfect and some come out looking, well not that great. The end batch that goes to the customer and is posted online is only the best of the best. The rest of the cookies are placed in the family cookie jar. Those cookies are studied to find out what went wrong but are eaten anyway because nothing goes to waste.

In Heaven's test kitchen lives are prepped and prepared to be put to the Master's use. In the service of the kingdom, no individual life belongs to himself or herself. Each life dedicated to the Master is to be used in service to others and to advance the kingdom of Heaven. In some of the best restaurants in the world, master chefs have something called a test kitchen. Recipes are born after multiple trials and errors to develop the perfect taste and texture before getting put on the menu. These tests are not done out in the open for the public to see. The master chef chooses the ingredients to go into the yet born recipe. These ingredients are thrown into all kinds of trials. They then are broken down, thrown into fire and water until the refining process is complete. The end result is a dish that has the chef's name placed on it as a signature dish ready for the public to consume.

God's refining process can feel lonely, disorienting, with all semblance of control having been lost. At least that is the perspective of the one going through the fire. However, the view from on high is quite different."Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver. I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For My own sake, for My own sake, I will do it; for how should My name be profaned? And I will not give My glory to another (Isaiah 48:10-11). 

Every saint in the kingdom has been called to be an image-bearer of Christ Jesus. "Then God said let Us create man in Our own image, according to Our likeness (Genesis 1:26). But because of sin, there are some things that have to be purged from our hearts and consciences in order to be fit for the Master's use. We as believers in Christ represent the glory and name of God here on Earth. If our lives reflect the consequences of our own whims, our own pursuits, and our own glory then God's name is profaned in front of the world. As ambassadors of Christ we were made to bring glory to our Lord, and one defining trait about the great I AM is that He will not share His glory with another, and that includes you and me.

The Baking Process

"He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and He will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men so will bring offerings in righteousness, (Malachi 3:3)". On its face, the thought of being purified through fire is pretty frightening and something that I wouldn't voluntarily submit myself to. The times that I have spent in God's furnace were crushing and in many ways broke me down to my core. I would never want to go through those experiences again to be truthful. I can honestly look back and say that I am not the same woman that I was before the fire. His fire is all-consuming but God knows what temperature our lives need in order to come out pure. The American Heritage Dictionary has an interesting list of the meaning of the word refine.

1. To reduce to a pure state
2. To remove by purifying
3. To free from coarse, unsuitable, or immoral characteristics
4. To become free from impurities
5. To acquire polish or elegance
6. To use precise distinctions and subtlety in thought and speech.

God is preparing His people to rule and reign with Him on Earth one day. "You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on Earth (Revelation 5:10)." The purpose of refining is to prepare heirs worthy of the responsibility to rule as kings in the next life and to minister as priests now in this life. Because God is a good Father, He will not entrust to babes the authority that comes with ruling in the kingdom. "Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all, but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father (Galatians 4:1-2)". Therefore it is to our benefit when we endure trials and come out of them. Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him (James 1:12)". There will come a day when the trials will end, and for those that make it out of the Wilderness, there is great reward on the other side.

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Psalms 119 This Is My Comfort In My Affliction

The Waiting Part

Waiting on God to fulfill His promise is something that all Christians will go through during our time here on Earth. At times the waiting can seem not long at all; especially when God comes through on a promise quickly. There may have been a little time of suspense when you are not quite sure if He is going to come through. Then all of a sudden bam! God made a way and we can sing our songs of praise and life is wonderful again. But a funny thing happens the longer you walk with the Lord. The trials start to get harder and the times between the spoken deliverance and the manifestation of the promise start to get longer. This is when the hard part starts. Welcome to what I like to call the fellowship of His sufferings.

Buried In The Dirt

Psalm 119:49-50 says "Remember the word to Your servant, Upon which You have caused me to hope. This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your word has given me life." Christian suffering can take many different forms. God can use divorce, job loss, rebellious children, and any number of things to 1) develop you into the image of Christ, 2) have everything work out for His glory and 3) deepen your faith and cause you to be a living testimony to others of the power of God. That is God's game plan, however, surviving that and coming out to the other side of victory can be long at times. What happens if you come down with a sickness that the doctors say will be with you for years? You know that God has given you a promise of healing, but when will that happen? When we are buried deep in the dirt is when feelings of loneliness, abandonment, doubt, and depression can easily take over. When I had my period of burial I used to feel guilty for being angry at God for the situation I was in. I couldn't understand why God would tell me one thing and yet it seems that everything around me was in complete contradiction to the promise of God. It is very easy to listen to Satan whisper the lies, that you are forgotten, you would have been better off sinning rather than walking in holiness and suffering. I have learned that when Satan starts talking then I needed to start talking back to him the word of God.

Developing Roots

Getting honest with yourself and God is vital to coming out of your period of waiting. Don't be afraid of having those hard conversations with yourself and God about how you feel. Don't be afraid of feeling negative emotions! I remember thinking that if I felt any kind of negativity or doubt then I was sinning. On top of dealing with really hard things that would make me cry, now there was this additional burden of pretending to God and myself that all was well. Because God forbid if anything other than a positive thought crossed my mind at any point in time. But you know what I learned, God gave me my emotions, the good and the bad. In fact, we all were made in God's image, so because God can feel anger so can we. If God can feel hurt, despair, jealousy, then so can we. You know a funny thing happened, God wasn't surprised by my feelings. Instead, He took my feelings head-on and gave me peace, joy, and grace instead. I learned that I can go to Him and lay everything down at the alter. I would ask God the hard questions of why is this happening to me? Sometimes He would give me an answer and sometimes He didn't. Every time I went to God with my doubts and fears, He gave me faith and grace in exchange. God is no respecter of persons, if He did it for me, He will do it for you. Getting buried in the dirt also taught me that His grace was indeed sufficient for me. Although God didn't remove the thorn in my flesh, His grace gave me the ability to endure the hardship. In fact, I really believe, that is the true definition of grace. Grace is the sacred ability to endure hardships as a good soldier in Christ.

The Final Fruit

What then is the purpose of God for the trials? Well, Paul said in Romans 5:3-5 "And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance, and perseverance, character, and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us".

Once you made it through the fire of testing, one of the main things it produces in the life of the Christian is an unshakeable hope in Christ. There is nothing like having a steadfast companion that you can lean on and run to whenever things go bad. For some people that is a parent, or childhood friend, or spouse. However, sometimes God will remove those people out of your life so that you can learn to lean, trust, and run to Christ instead. During the dark times, when depression weighs on you like a dark wet blanket. The Holy Spirit will shine forth in your heart with a scripture or a song to drive the darkness away. That is why I love Psalms 119 because it goes down the path of trial but the writer turned to God's word every step of the way. It is ok to remind God of His promise to you, and it is ok to be weak because when you are weak, then He is strong. I'm going to end this post with the opening verse again. Say it to yourself and keep His word in your heart.

Psalms 119:49-50 Remember the word to Your servant, Upon which You have caused me to hope. This is my comfort in my affliction, For Your word has given me life.

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Taking Your First Steps Into Promise

Every believer in Christ has a Wilderness experience before going into their own Promise Land. The Wilderness is a place of testing, chastening, suffering, and maturing into sonship in Christ. The Lord dictated to Moses and the children of Israel what they would encounter before stepping foot into their Promise Land. The Lord God warned them that they would face many enemies, but not to worry for the Lord God was with them. God was bringing them into a good land that was not like Egypt:

"For the land which you go to possess is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and watered it by foot, as a vegetable garden; but the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water from the rain of heaven, a land for which the Lord your God cares; the eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, fro the beginning of the year to the very end of the year." Deuteronomy 11:10-12 NKJV

When the Lord begins to direct you to prepare for your promise after the season of wandering and trial in the Wilderness it is called your transition. Think of the transition phase as a type of checklist to make sure you have everything you need to successfully lay claim to the promise. For the children of Israel, the one condition that the Lord God mentioned over and over again was to have a heart that loved the Lord God above all and to obey His commandments. The purpose of the wilderness was to prepare their hearts to love the Lord and obey Him. Just like for us today, the same principle holds true. Before God can give you what is in His Hand you must first give Him your heart.

"Above all else guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23 NIV

It is during the Wilderness where what is in your heart is tested and tried before God. It is a season where your flesh is put to death through a season of suffering. This could come in the form of divorce, sickness, death, poverty and any number of things that will humble you. But if you cling to God you will find that He is your source, strength, husband, friend, and provider after all others have failed you. In fact, it is during this time where you discover God Himself, both His acts and His ways.

"He revealed his character to Moses and His deeds to the people of Israel." Psalm 103:7 NLT

To finally discover for yourself the character of God and to know Him is the greatest treasure that a human can possess. If you treasure and love the Lord above all else, more than what He can do for you then you have discovered the secret and purpose to life itself, loving God. So during the transition what is it that God wants you to reflect on and take with you into the Promised Land? Love the Lord, obey His Word, and walk humbly with your God.

"And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord." Deuteronmy 8:2-3 NKJV

The purpose of all the testing was to prepare you to receive and be able to hold the promise. If God had given you the promise before you were ready, you would fall and the promise would destroy you because of pride. One of my favorite teachers Tony Evans said that with every blessing comes a curse built in it. It is really easy for us to forget what God has done and believe that somehow our education or our own ability brought the promise to us. The sin of the pride of life, where we believe that we are the masters of our destiny and not God, brings down many a Christian.

"For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father but is of the world." 1 John 2:16 NKJV

"Then you say in your heart, My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth. And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the Lord your God and follow other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. As the nations which the Lord destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the Lord your God. Deuteronomy 8:17-20 NKJV

 Before you make your first steps into promise make sure that God is first in your heart, for your heart is the true promise land. Know that your God has gone before you and prepared the way to lay claim to what He has promised for you. All the testing and trials had a purpose because God will do good for you in the end!

"Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, lest when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks multiply and your silver and your gold are multiplied and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end." Deuteronomy 8:11-16 NKJV

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