Welcome back to Pamoja Ministry. Today, we have
reached the final conversation of refined for
a purpose and before we go anywhere. I want you
to remember where we have been. We have talked
about the fire. We have talked about character,
integrity, compromise, the crack before the collapse,
correction, failure, mercy, preparation. the
weight of what we prayed for. And in our last
conversation, don't waste the fire, we ask one
final question before moving forward. What must
not follow me into the next season? We said,
take the lesson, leave the bitterness, take the
wisdom, leave the shame, take the discernment,
leave the paranoia, take the humility, leave
the humiliation, take the correction. Leave the
condemnation take the testimony and leave behind
what the fire was meant to remove but now We
have reached the other side of that question
Because after asking what the fire was meant
to remove Perhaps we should ask what was the
fire producing? What if the season you thought
was only breaking you was also building something?
What if the season you thought was only delaying
you was developing you? What if the season you
thought was only exposing your weakness was teaching
you where your strength actually comes from?
What if God was doing something in you while
you were asking him to do something around you?
Maybe now we are ready to understand the name
of this entire journey You are not simply going
through the fire. You are being refined for a
purpose. Maybe you couldn't see it while you
were in it. There is something about difficult
seasons. When you are inside them, your vision
becomes limited. You see today's pain, today's
pressure, today's unanswered question, today's
disappointment, today's battle. You pray, God,
get me out. God, change this. God, open the door.
God, remove this pressure. God, defend me. God,
restore me. And those prayers are understandable.
But sometimes, providence becomes clearer, looking
backward than living forward. Joseph could not
see Egypt from the pit. David could not see the
throne from the cave. Moses could not see the
Red Sea opening while tending sheep in Midian.
Peter could not see Pentecost while crying after
denying Jesus. Paul could not see his future
ministry while blinded on the road to Damascus.
Sometimes you understand what God was producing.
Later, James says, consider it pure joy, my brothers
and sisters, whenever you face trials of many
kinds. Why? Not because pain is enjoyable. Not
because injustice is good. Not because betrayal
is good. Not because loss is good. James continues,
because you know that the testing of your faith
produces perseverance. There is the word produces.
The trial is doing something. The testing is
producing something. The pressure is revealing
something. The process is developing something.
and sometimes you cannot see what is being produced
until later. The fire was not the purpose. This
distinction matters. We should never become so
fascinated with suffering that we begin treating
pain itself as holy. Pain is not automatically
purpose. Suffering is not automatically spiritual
maturity. Some suffering comes from living in
a broken world. Some comes from other people's
decisions. Some comes from our own decisions.
Some comes through persecution. Some circumstances
remain mysterious. And scripture does not require
us to call evil good. Romans 8 28 does not say
everything that happens is good. It tells us
that God works in all things for the good of
those who love him and are called according to
his purpose. That means the fire does not have
to be good for God to bring good through it.
The betrayal was not necessarily good. The disappointment
was not necessarily good. The failure was not
good. The injustice was not good. The loss was
painful. But God is not limited by what happened.
He can take what should have destroyed you and
weave it into something that develops you. The
fire was not the purpose. Refinement was. Peter
says your faith can come through the fire like
gold. 1 Peter 1 says that trials come so that
the proven genuineness of your faith, of greater
worth than gold, which perishes even though refined
by fire, may result in praise, glory, and honor
when Jesus Christ is revealed. Peter compares
tested faith to gold. Gold enters the fire containing
impurities. The heat reveals what doesn't belong.
The refiner removes it. And what remains becomes
purer. Think about our entire season. Maybe the
fire revealed something in you. Anger, pride,
fear, insecurity, the need for approval, weak
boundaries, undisciplined words, unforgiveness,
poor stewardship. self -confidence without dependence
upon God. Maybe you didn't know it was there.
Maybe you knew but underestimated it. Maybe you
defended it. Maybe you called it personality.
Maybe you blamed everybody else. Then pressure
came and suddenly there it was. But what if God
allowed you to see it because he wanted to deal
with it? Maybe exposure wasn't always destruction.
Maybe exposure was an invitation to refinement.
The fire revealed you to you. There are things
God already knows about us that we have not yet
discovered about ourselves. Peter believed he
was ready to die with Jesus. Jesus knew Peter
was about to deny him. Peter's confidence was
sincere, but it wasn't complete self -knowledge.
Then pressure came. and Peter discovered Peter.
Have you ever experienced that? You thought you
were patient until you had to wait. You thought
you had forgiven until you saw the person again.
You thought you were humble until somebody corrected
you. You thought money didn't matter until you
lost some. You thought you trusted God until
the answer didn't come. You thought you had self
-control. Until temptation came at the right
moment. You thought you didn't need approval.
Until people stopped applauding. The fire didn't
necessarily create everything it exposed. Sometimes
the fire revealed what was already there. And
that revelation can be painful. But you cannot
surrender what you refuse to see. You cannot
strengthen a boundary. you refuse to admit is
weak. You cannot repent of something you continue
defending. You cannot ask God to transform a
version of yourself you keep pretending doesn't
exist. Sometimes the beginning of transformation
is the moment you finally say, God, I see it
now. But God didn't show you the impurity to
throw away the gold. This may be one of the most
important things we have learned. When God reveals
something in you, don't immediately conclude,
I'm finished. The refiner doesn't throw away
gold because he discovers impurities. The impurities
are why refining exists. David failed terribly.
God corrected him. Peter failed publicly. Jesus
restored him. Jacob carried deception in his
history. God wrestled with him and changed him.
Moses had weaknesses. God dealt with him. Paul
had a past that could have buried him in shame.
Yet he said, by the grace of God, I am what I
am. Grace does not tell you impurity doesn't
matter. Grace says, bring it to God. Let him
deal with it. Correction is not always rejection.
Conviction is not condemnation. Failure does
not automatically cancel purpose. And the crack
does not necessarily mean the structure is worthless.
Sometimes God shows you the crack because he
intends to preserve the structure. Look at who
you are becoming. This is where I want us to
slow down. Because maybe you have spent this
entire season looking at what you lost. But have
you looked at what you gained? Not materially,
internally. Maybe you pray differently now. Maybe
you listen more carefully. Maybe you are slower
to react. Maybe you recognize certain temptations
sooner. Maybe you understand your boundaries
better. Maybe you don't need everybody's approval
anymore. Maybe you apologize faster. Maybe you
know when to remain silent. Maybe you are more
careful with your words. Maybe you have become
more compassionate toward people who fail. Maybe
you understand grace differently. Maybe you have
learned that being strong does not mean pretending
you never get tired. Maybe you ask for help sooner.
Maybe you recognize pride faster. Maybe you know
that your gift cannot replace your character.
Maybe you understand that integrity must be protected.
Maybe you have learned to pray before responding.
Maybe you have learned that not every battle
requires your participation. Maybe your circumstances
have not completely changed. But you have. And
perhaps that is one of the miracles you almost
missed. You were waiting for God to change everything
around you, and somewhere along the way, God
began changing something within you. You asked
God to change the season, but God was also changing
you. This is the revelation. Sometimes we enter
prayer focused on circumstances. Change my job.
Change my finances. Change my marriage. Change
this person. change the situation, change the
environment, change the outcome. But then God
begins asking, what about your reaction? What
about your pride? What about your discipline?
What about your words? What about your boundaries?
What about your unforgiveness? What about your
stewardship? What about your dependence upon
me? And suddenly, The prayer changes. Instead
of only, God, change this. It becomes, God, change
me while I walk through this. That is a different
level of prayer. Because now the fire is no longer
simply something you are trying to escape. It
becomes something you refuse to waste. God doesn't
waste the fire. This has become one of the central
declarations of our journey. God doesn't waste
the fire. Again, that does not mean God authored
every painful thing that happened. It means nothing
is beyond his ability to redeem, teach through,
transform through, or incorporate into his purposes.
Joseph said to his brothers in Genesis 50 20,
you intended to harm me, but God intended it
for good. The intentions were different. Their
intention was harm. God's purpose was preservation.
Joseph did not call their evil good. He recognized
that their evil did not have final authority
over his story. What they intended was not what
ultimately defined the outcome. And perhaps there
are things in your story that you still cannot
explain. Don't force an explanation. where God
has not given one. But you can still believe
what happened does not have greater authority
than God. The fire does not get to decide who
you become. The betrayal doesn't. The failure
doesn't. The rejection doesn't. The disappointment
doesn't. The delay doesn't. The accusation doesn't.
The loss doesn't. The wilderness doesn't. God
can still work. God can still redeem. God can
still teach. God can still restore. God can still
redirect. God can still refine. What they meant
for evil may have pushed you towards something
they never intended. Joseph's brothers wanted
him gone. They helped move him toward Egypt.
Potiphar's wife wanted him punished. Prison eventually
connected him with Pharaoh's officials. The chain
did not make sense while Joseph was living it.
But later, purpose gave perspective to pain.
Sometimes people think they are removing you
from something, and God uses the movement to
reposition you. Sometimes rejection forces you
to discover something you never would have pursued.
Sometimes a closed door redirects your attention.
Sometimes disappointment reveals misplaced dependence.
Sometimes losing people's approval teaches you
to live without it. Sometimes the battle drives
you deeper into prayer. Sometimes the thing that
shook your confidence teaches you to depend upon
God instead of yourself. Again, we don't have
to call the painful thing good, but we can say,
God, if it happened, Don't let it be wasted.
Even your failure can become part of your formation.
This may be difficult to hear correctly, so listen
carefully. Sin is not necessary for spiritual
growth. We do not need to fail in order for God
to teach us. We should never deliberately choose
wrong because we think God will use it. But when
we genuinely fail and genuinely repent, God's
mercy can teach us through what happened. Peter's
denial taught him something about self -confidence.
David's failure revealed the devastating consequences
of uncontrolled desire and misuse of authority.
John Mark's early departure did not prevent him
from later becoming useful. Paul never forgot
the kind of man grace had rescued. Your failure
can teach you boundaries. Humility, dependence,
accountability, compassion, watchfulness, the
danger of pride, the necessity of prayer, the
value of correction. So don't glorify the failure.
Glorify the God whose mercy refused to let failure
have the final word. Your scars may become part
of how you serve somebody else. Jesus told Peter,
when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.
That is extraordinary. Peter's restored life
would eventually become useful to other people.
The thing that humbled him would influence how
he strengthened others. There are lessons you
understand differently after living through them.
You speak differently about failure after mercy
finds you. You speak differently about grief
after you have cried. You speak differently.
about waiting after you have waited. You speak
differently about temptation after you have discovered
your vulnerability. You speak differently about
restoration after you have needed it. Your scars
do not make you superior, but healed scars can
make you compassionate. Maybe somebody will survive
because you are willing to say, I know what that
valley feels like. I know what shame feels like.
I know what waiting feels like. I know what it
means to need mercy. And I also know God can
meet you there. The fire was preparing your capacity.
Remember our last conversations, integrity, discipline,
self -control, correction, mercy, stewardship,
the weight of blessing. These are connected.
Character develops. Discipline strengthens. Self
-control protects. Integrity makes you trustworthy.
Trustworthiness increases your capacity to carry
responsibility. Maybe you were asking God for
greater responsibility while God was developing
greater character. Maybe you were asking for
influence while God was strengthening integrity.
Maybe you were asking for abundance. While God
was teaching stewardship. Maybe you were asking
for leadership. While God was teaching humility.
Maybe you were asking for a platform. While God
was teaching you how to live when nobody applauds.
Maybe you were asking for the palace. While God
was developing something in Potiphar's house
and the prison. Preparation is also progress.
And now perhaps you understand why some lessons
matter. The blessing carries weight and God cares
about who you become while carrying it. But don't
turn this into a formula. We have to preserve
this truth. Not every difficult season means
a promotion is coming. Not every loss means God
is about to replace it with something bigger.
Not every waiting season ends with the exact
thing you requested. Not every faithful person
receives earthly success Christianity is not
Endure enough pain and God will reward you with
money promotion or influence Jesus himself suffered
the Apostles suffered Some faithful believers
have walked through enormous hardship without
receiving the earthly outcome. They hoped for
Our ultimate hope is not success Our ultimate
hope is Christ. So when we say refined for a
purpose, purpose is bigger than promotion. Purpose
may mean becoming more like Christ, more faithful,
more loving, more disciplined, more courageous,
more compassionate, more useful, more surrendered.
Sometimes the greatest thing produced by the
fire is not a new position. It is a transformed
person. Maybe the purpose was bigger than the
thing you lost. Sometimes we become so focused
on recovering what was lost that we cannot imagine
God doing something beyond it. We want the old
door reopened, the old relationship restored,
the old position returned, the old opportunity
recreated. And sometimes God does restore those
things, but sometimes he doesn't. Sometimes restoration
is not going backward. Sometimes restoration
is discovering that God still has a future, even
when yesterday cannot be reconstructed. Purpose
is bigger than position. Purpose is bigger than
a title. Purpose is bigger than one opportunity.
Purpose is bigger than one person's approval.
Purpose is bigger than one closed door. God is
not limited to the version of your future you
originally imagined. Sometimes the fire burns
away not only impurities, but also our insistence
that God must fulfill purpose exactly the way
we expect it. Faith eventually learns to pray,
God, I surrender not only my life to you, I surrender
my version of how my life must unfold. Now you
understand why you couldn't take everything with
you. This is why our last conversation mattered.
Some things could not follow you. The bitterness
had to go. The pride had to go. The need for
revenge had to go. The uncontrolled reactions
had to go. The weak boundaries had to change.
The unhealthy dependence had to change. The need
to prove yourself had to go. The comparison had
to go. The old compromise had to go. Because
sometimes God is preparing a future that requires
you to travel lighter. You cannot carry every
wound forever. You cannot carry every offense
forever. You cannot carry every old identity
forever. You cannot carry every old relationship
in the same way forever. You cannot carry every
habit forever. At some point, you take the lesson
and leave the weight. The person coming out should
not be identical to the person who went in. If
you walk through the fire and learn nothing,
something was wasted. But if you come out praying
differently, something happened. If you come
out humbler, something happened. If you come
out wiser, something happened. If you come out
with stronger boundaries, something happened.
If you come out more disciplined, something happened.
If you come out less dependent upon applause,
something happened. If you come out more compassionate,
something happened. If you come out knowing how
much you need God, something happened. If you
come out able to forgive, something happened.
If you come out with integrity strengthened,
something happened. Maybe the miracle wasn't
only that you came out, maybe the miracle is
who came out. There are fires you should never
have to repeat, not because God mechanically
gives you the same test until you pass, but because
wisdom should remember. If God showed you the
danger of poor boundaries, remember. If you learned
what pride can cost, remember. If uncontrolled
anger damaged something, remember If exhaustion
made you vulnerable, remember If isolation weakened
you, remember If ignoring conviction led somewhere
painful, remember If prayer carried you, remember
If accountability protected you, remember If
scripture anchored you, remember If God carried
you when you had nothing left, remember The lesson
becomes part of the refinement. Don't waste it.
And now, look at the fire differently. Maybe
you once looked at this season and only saw what
it took. Now look again. What did it teach? What
did it expose? What did it remove? What did it
strengthen? What did it redirect? What did it
clarify? Who disappeared? Who remained? What
became less important? What became more important?
What did you discover about God? What did you
discover about yourself? What prayer became deeper?
What boundary became clearer? What conviction
became stronger? What illusion died? What faith
survived? Maybe you still don't understand everything.
That's okay. You don't need to force meaning
onto every detail. But perhaps you understand
enough to say, I am not the same person. And
maybe that is where purpose begins becoming visible.
Refine doesn't mean perfect. Let me make this
clear before we finish. You are not leaving this
season perfect. I am not leaving this conversation
suggesting that mature Christians reach a place
where weakness disappears. We remain dependent
upon grace. We continue growing. We continue
learning. We continue needing correction. We
continue needing the Holy Spirit. We continue
practicing discipline. We continue guarding integrity.
Refinement is not perfection. Refinement is transformation.
It is becoming more responsive to God. more aware
of your weaknesses, quicker to repent, slower
to justify compromise, more willing to receive
correction, more intentional about boundaries,
more dependent upon grace, more committed to
integrity, more faithful with what God places
in your hands. The refiner is still working.
And maybe that is the purpose. Romans 8, 29 follows
the verse we love to quote in Romans 8, 28. After
telling us that God works in all things for good
according to His purpose, Paul speaks about being
conformed to the image of His Son that gives
us something profound. Maybe the deepest good
God is producing is not simply comfortable circumstances.
Maybe He is forming Christ in us. a character
that looks more like Jesus, integrity, love,
patience, courage, humility, obedience, self
-control, compassion, faithfulness. Jesus endured
temptation without compromise, popularity without
pride, rejection without losing identity, power
without corruption, false accusation, Without
surrendering truth, suffering without abandoning
obedience, if refinement makes us more like Christ,
then the purpose goes far beyond the temporary
season. This is what the fire was producing.
Maybe now we can finally say it. The fire was
producing endurance. The fire was producing wisdom.
The fire was producing discernment. The fire
was producing humility. The fire was producing
discipline. The fire was producing stronger boundaries.
The fire was producing deeper prayer. The fire
was producing compassion. The fire was producing
dependence upon God. The fire was producing integrity.
The fire was producing faith that had been tested.
The fire was producing someone capable of carrying
responsibility differently, and perhaps the fire
was producing a testimony. Not, look how strong
I am, but look how faithful God has been. Not,
I survived because I had everything under control.
But, God carried me when I didn't. Not, I never
failed. But, mercy found me when I did. Not.
Nothing hurt me, but what hurt me did not get
to determine who I became. So what do you do
now? You move forward, but differently. You don't
return to Egypt. You don't rebuild what conviction
tore down. You don't resurrect what repentance
buried. You don't abandon the boundaries that
protected you. You don't forget the God you needed
in the wilderness when you arrive in the place
you prayed for. You don't let blessing replace
dependence. You don't let promotion replace humility.
You don't let influence replace integrity. You
don't let success silence prayer. You don't let
yesterday's failure become tomorrow's identity.
You don't let yesterday's betrayal become tomorrow's
bitterness. You take the lesson. You take the
wisdom. You take the humility. You take the discipline.
You take the testimony. You take the deeper faith
and you keep walking. And now I want to speak
directly to you. Maybe you are listening to this
while still in the fire. Then perhaps this finale
is not yet describing your past. Maybe it is
describing what you are hoping to see. You may
still be waiting, still hurting, still asking
questions, still trying to understand, still
praying for the door to open, still asking God
for intervention. Then don't force yourself to
pretend everything makes sense. Faith does not
require pretending. But hold on to this. Your
current chapter is not necessarily your final
conclusion. You may not yet know what God is
doing behind the scenes. You may not yet understand
what this season is producing. But stay close
to God. Stay teachable. Stay prayerful. Stay
accountable. Stay in His Word. Guard your heart.
Guard your integrity. Receive correction. Practice
discipline. Refuse bitterness. And when the fire
reveals something, give it to the refiner. Don't
waste the fire. One day you may look back differently.
Maybe one day you will look at the season that
almost broke you and recognize the place where
you learned to pray. Maybe you will look at the
rejection and recognize where you stopped living
for approval. Maybe you will look at the failure
and recognize where pride finally broke. Maybe
you will look at the waiting and recognize where
endurance grew. Maybe you will look at the correction
and recognize where your character changed. Maybe
you will look at the closed door and recognize
where your direction changed. Maybe you will
look at the wilderness and recognize where you
discovered God could sustain you. And perhaps
you will say, I would never choose everything
that happened to me, but I can see that God did
not waste it. That is different from calling
pain good. That is testimony. The fire didn't
get the final word. So as we close this season,
I want to leave you with this declaration. The
fire did not get the final word. The betrayal
did not get the final word. The accusation did
not get the final word. The rejection did not
get the final word. The disappointment did not
get the final word. The failure did not get the
final word. The shame did not get the final word.
The delay did not get the final word. The wilderness
did not get the final word. Even the version
of you who entered the fire does not get the
final word. God is still working. Grace is still
working. The Holy Spirit is still transforming.
And the refiner is still refining. This was never
just about surviving. Maybe at the beginning
you prayed, God, just get me through this. And
God did carry you. But now you realize there
was more happening. You were learning. You were
changing. You were surrendering. You were being
corrected. You were discovering weaknesses. You
were building discipline. You were learning integrity.
You were receiving mercy. You were developing
capacity. You were learning stewardship. You
were releasing what could not follow you. And
perhaps now, you can finally look at the journey
and say, I understand. Not everything. Maybe
never everything. But enough. Enough to know
that God was present. Enough to know that grace
was working. Enough to know that the fire did
not destroy everything. Enough to know that something
came out stronger. Enough to know that your story
is still being written. Enough to know that purpose
is still alive. And enough to declare, I was
refined for a purpose. I will not waste the pain.
I will not waste the correction. I will not waste
the lesson. I will not waste the mercy. I will
not waste the second chance. I will not waste
the wisdom. I will not waste the testimony. I
will not waste the fire. What God removed, I
will not keep rebuilding. What God taught me,
I will not intentionally forget. What God entrusted
to me, I will steward. Where God corrected me,
I will remain teachable. Where God restored me,
I will remain grateful. Where God strengthened
me, I will remain humble. and whatever comes
next I will enter it differently not perfect
but refined not without scars but wiser not without
a past but no longer imprisoned by it not depending
upon myself but depending upon God because now
I know the fire was not my destination the fire
was part of my preparation and the God who was
with me before the fire The God who was with
me in the fire will still be God when I walk
out of it. So I move forward with deeper faith,
with greater wisdom, with stronger integrity,
with humility, with discipline, with gratitude,
with mercy, with purpose. And with this testimony,
God did not waste the fire. I was, I am, and
I will continue to be refined for a purpose.
This is Pamoja Ministry. And wherever you are
in your journey today, remember, the refiner
is not finished with you. Keep walking. Keep
believing. Keep becoming. And may everything
God has taught you in the fire prepare you to
faithfully carry whatever he places in your hands
next. Always remember, you are not alone.