A Woman's Walk - Week of September 2

Tempering
by Margaret D. Mitchell
Week of September 2, 2007

“But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.”  ~ I Thessalonians 5:8

Temperance is restraint in the face of temptation.  It is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:23 KJV).  The root word “temper” originally meant “mixture” in Latin.  As Christians, we are an amalgam of body, soul and spirit.  And it is God in us who gives us harmony, who guides us and enables us to live temperate lives.  To Him, we must yield.

If we look at the Old Testament, unleavened cakes and wafers were “tempered with oil” and “anointed with oil” (Ex. 29:2).  In these simple passages lives so much meaning.  Just as the wheat and the oil were combined to complete a substance that would sustain life, the bread of life (Jesus) and the anointing oil (the Holy Spirit) sustain us in times of trouble, in the dry desert journeys, in the face of the tempter Satan. 

Although God is always in control, He allows us to journey through difficult circumstances to temper us, to reach for Him and depend upon Him with a great urgency and intensity for help.  God’s firing or tempering process prepares us for the next promotion.  It challenges us to reach the next glory and obtain a higher level of purity and holiness (Ex. 30:35-37).  Yielding to the Holy Spirit brings us into greater composure, which positions us for action (I Peter 1:13) in an upcoming season. 

Just last week, a friend of mind received a major breakthrough in her career.  She had been under the authority of a boss from whom she felt great heaviness and oppression on a daily basis.  Yes, she was being tempered.  I watched her at church each week as she journeyed through this dry place.  I saw tears of desperation fall from her cheeks.  I saw her heart cry out to God for relief.  And I saw her offer sacrifices of praise to the Lord while in the midst of emotional pressure and pain.

Many interceded for her, including myself.  And on the day that she was offered a new job, which was unbeknownst to me at the time, the Lord showed me that because she sought His heart with all of her heart, and because she was faithful to stay the course and exhibit love in the process, He shielded her from undue harm and was promoting to be in authority over others

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