I most definitely prefer the bliss of the Lord's presence and the joy of His nearness, to the Fires of purging. I really, really do! However, I have learned over the years that His cleansing Fire, is the Fire of His passion that burns within us. We can learn to have peace and joy even in the midst of the most difficult circumstances, by fixing our hearts and minds relentlessly on the Lord. At any time during trials & spiritual attacks, if we begin to react out of our flesh instead of our spirit, we will feel the Fire of God's passion trying to consume what is not of Him, in order for us to not become contaminated by things like sinful reactions, demonic oppression, etc. The reason we feel such contention inside of us during these trying times, is because His passion for us is trying to draw us into Him instead of away from Him. When we begin to react to our situations in the flesh, we feel the Fire burning, doing it's cleansing work. However, this pain ca...
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