Spontaneity. That one word sums up the moment when Brian Doerksen remembers that he heard and felt something at, of all places, a traffic light. He still doesn’t know what sparked this moment in 1990, but something – or Someone – within told him that he needed a “Refiner’s Fire” that day, that he needed to think about a metaphorical transformation, like how gold is refined. (See the picture here, that shows a metallurgical process called casting, in which molten gold is poured into a mold.) Purity was the ultimate destination that Brian quickly recognized, and so he gave his full attention to this prompting by the Spirit inside himself later that day, after arriving in a place where the sounds of traffic and 20th Century life, even in a church, would not intrude. Like gold in the purification process, the believer who submits to this kind of procedure cannot do it piecemeal. The intensity of the surrounding environment is inescapable; it is consuming and reshaping what is present. He does this, if I let Him.
Brian was totally surprised when he began to hear the tones, as well as the suggestion of words that would become the first lyrics of this ‘Refiner’s Fire’. But unlike the metallurgical crucible, and how it overwhelms its contents, Brian says the tune he heard did not try to engulf him. Instead, this song – though penetrating for a few moments – would present itself only fleetingly, with some noticeable effervescence in the air about him in his car. Fading in and out, as if to attract his attention and make him curious, the song stayed with Brian until he arrived at the church where he worked. Once there, Brian was obedient to the persuasive and quietly persistent Spirit, and so he told his secretary to allow him some space – no calls or other distractions. He would have a similar epiphany when he composed another song years later (See ‘Come, Now Is the Time to Worship’ [Feb. 1, 2020 blog entry]), so could the Spirit have been inaugurating a method for Brian that was already being conceived for a future endeavor? Undoubtedly, Brian could not have known the answer to that question, for he was totally focused on the moment in 1990, and the time he needed to explore scripture and see what God says about purity and refinement. He was submissive at that moment, and so responded with poetry that served to that same end and the purifying result that his brief bible study showed him was the objective of any believer’s quest to be one with God. The song was finished in just a few hours. This ‘God-moment’ became a ‘God-and-Brian-listening-to-Him-moment’. Brian assented to being ‘gold’ and ‘silver’ in His hands, being ‘set apart’, and being ‘cleanse(d)…from sin’. ‘Choos(ing) to be holy’, and making himself ‘ready’ for God’s purposes – those were life choices that this minister named Brian reaffirmed that day.
Though he doesn’t say so in his interview, Brian’s story implicitly declares that even church ministers have purity gaps they need to acknowledge and fill. I may not even be aware of issues that are creeping into my being, until something brings me to a screeching halt. Space has to be filled with something good or the enemy will return and move in and try to take over, even if he’s been chased out previously, as Jesus reminded us in a story about a house being apparently swept clean but remaining empty (Matthew 12:43-45). Brian’s words are a reminder that refining is necessarily an ongoing thing. One could cringe at such a prospect, but the way Brian tells it, this is something that instead becomes ‘my heart’s one desire’. If you’ve tried the enemy’s ways, and found they ultimately become destructive, don’t be discouraged. You’re not beyond hope. Try the God way, surrounding yourself with Him and His people, and you’ll feel the refiner’s fire working on you a bit. Keep coming back for more of this fire.
Watch/hear the song’s story here: Refiner's Fire - How I Wrote it - Brian Doerksen (youtube.com)
Read about refining metal here (called metallurgy) Refining (metallurgy) - Wikipedia
See information on the picture showing liquid gold being poured here: File:Pouring gold.jpg - Wikimedia Commons …I, the copyright holder of this work, release this work into the public domain. This applies worldwide. In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so: I grant anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.
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