Spiritual Refinement

.
Guest Blogger : Imelda Quibin
.
I took the above picture while standing on Mt. Nebo, where Moses stood and viewed the Promised Land from afar. This terrain, rugged and intimidating, is an apt and sobering portrait of how God can use harsh and difficult circumstances to refine and strengthen us. Enjoy Imelda’s blog, as she shares her personal journey of spiritual refinement.

The desert has always played a major role in the Bible, not because it was a place of solitude or escape, but because by barren nature it served as an instrument to refine Faith. Throughout biblical history, whenever God sought to refine a man for His purposes, He led him into the wilderness. Surely we journey into our own wildernesses.

For an example, let's discuss the life of Jacob. When Jacob was a young man I believe that his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac, and their wives as well, told Jacob about the goodness of the Lord. But maybe Jacob just answered: “Oh yeah, Grandpa. You’re right!” (That is my pastor's great line!)

Not to exclude other people in the Bible, but I always admired and reflected on Jacob’s experiences, because his life was a little bit challenging. He was a quiet, stubborn type of man who mocked his brother Esau, and convinced him to exchange his birthright for a pot of lentils. The birthright is very important to the Jews, especially for anointing powers.

To me, Jacob’s most vibrant experience was his escape from Esau into the wilderness, as he journeyed to his uncle Laban in Haran. At Bethel, he talked with God in a dream. This was the first time he encountered the Lord. He watched angels going up and down a staircase into heaven. Jacob said to himself, "Oh, God is real!” and he marked that place as a holy place.

I consider the time my husband and I have worked abroad as FAITH REFINEMENT. After college I was eager to know more about life. I landed a job working in a US manufacturing factory called Integrated Circuit (IC). After settling into this job, I got married, and I felt that time passed by very quickly; God gave me three children in about a ten-year span. Wow! You are amazing, Lord.

My first work abroad was in Taiwan. IC sent interested workers abroad to its sister company in Taiwan. The agreement was that all expenses would be paid by the company. If work conditions deteriorated, they promised to send us home. If the company branch in the Philippines had no opening job they would compensate us.

My husband had been working in a jewelry factory in Saudi Arabia. While he was home on vacation, we agreed that he would stay home with the children while I worked abroad.

My papers were approved and I was ready to fly. Although I was eager to work abroad, it was very hard for me to leave my family behind and I had frustrations about being away from my family later on also.

To my amazement, I encountered the Lord in a church with lively worship! To fill my homesickness I joined my co-workers with the “Jesus is Lord” (JIL) ministry in Taiwan. There, I had the biblical experience of being born again.

But this was a very challenging time. I worked for only 10 months, because the factory deteriorated. The company sent all their foreign workers home. (There were over 100 of us.) So I was very happy to go home to see my family but very sad knowing that I did not have a job.

Because of my born again experience in Taiwan, when I returned to the Philippines, I decided to attend a different church that also believed in the born again experience.

I encountered a lot of persecution in my life at this period. We had financial difficulties, my father passed away, my children had needs, plus other difficult things happened. In spite of all this, as a family we firmly stood with the Lord.

For those of you who read about my experiences and you also have tribulation in your life, do not lose hope, my dear friends. There are always good things in store for us from God. He loves us more than we know! As we walk with the Lord, persecution and problems are not eliminated but He is faithful each day.

My husband's salary was not enough for us to meet our needs so we decided again to exchange places. He would work only two years in Saudi Arabia, then return to the Philippines. Then, I would work abroad again. So I am now working in Israel as a caregiver. I am sure God brought me here, not only to work, but to receive a special gift from God to know Him like the Jews did…but in an even greater manifestation as Jesus the Messiah and the One True God.

The LORD JESUS must be our strong foundation. As we build a house, we dig the foundation beneath the earth. The foundation must be very strong so that when calamities come, the house will never be moved. When our foundation is the Lord, we build on Truth. Truth cannot be moved and it leads us to SALVATION.