The Baptism Of Fire

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Your fire

Painful refining

All whom You love

You discipline

Count all as gain

To be Your beloved

Call You Father

I will seek Your will

I will receive Your fire

Burn up all in me

Till I become the image of You

Your kindness

Faithful restoring

All whom you wash

Are white as snow

Count all as loss

To know You as I’m known

Call You Father

In the past, I understood the baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire to be a simultaneous experience, much like the events of Acts 2, where tongues of fire rested on the believers in the upper room, empowering them to speak in tongues. Although I experienced something similar, I recently realized that my understanding of the baptism of fire was limited. There is more that God wants to reveal to me.

Over the past few months, when people who did not know me well prayed for me, they spoke similarly along the lines of, “The experiences you have gone through in life is like the refining fire God put you through to make you like the pure diamond He has made you to be.”  It was in the past tense — “gone through” — that led me to rejoice in relief that my life's long and challenging seasons were finally over, allowing me the space to breathe and relax. However, when someone recently prayed these same words on the last occasion, I sensed God saying, “No, the fire is not done with you. I want to baptize you with fire.” My first reaction was, “Huh no way…”

Truth be told, God has since revealed aspects of myself that were inclined toward selfishness, self-protection, and sin. This revelation led me to 1 Peter 4, where Peter addressed a struggling church facing the challenges of a licentious culture filled with sensuality, passions, lawless idolatry, etc. He reminded the believers of the impending judgment against the Gentiles and continued talking about how believers would face fiery trials as judgment began in the house of God. This fire invites believers into co-suffering with Christ, purifying them so that only His glory remains. Additionally, I was directed to Matthew 3, where John the Baptist emphasised repentance and described the baptism of fire as judgment for those who do not repent and purely place confidence in their heritage as Abraham’s children.

Through these scriptures, I sensed God saying, “You would rather judgment begins within you now. You would rather My fire than hellfire. Lest you think you are safe holding on to your identity as a Christian, I want to burn all in you till all you have been created to be - the real you bearing the image of God - remains.” I have come to understand that the baptism of fire is not merely a power-filled experience for ministry, but also a judgment that purifies, enabling me to live fully as His co-sufferer and image bearer. On a practical level, this baptism of fire has unfolded as persistent prompts to reconcile with God and men. This involved releasing forgiveness, not holding others hostage for the wrongs others have done, asking for forgiveness and making restitutions towards those I have done wrong in the past, and cutting off sinful patterns of thoughts and behaviors. I thought the above practicals done some time back were sufficient, but I did those when I was in my nice, safe little bubble without those people in my life. It is a very different story when people are now gradually coming back into my life through physical or virtual interactions, and past memories and emotions surface again.

Obeying these prompts has often felt unnatural and painful. I felt really reluctant and wished His hand was not so heavy. Yet I recognise that He treats me this way because He regards me as His beloved child. He does not desire to make my life burdensome or miserable. He is a Father who provides not only comforting experiences but also challenging ones that lower me to honestly face the wretched parts, and cry out for His help to bring refining and delight in the desires and wills of His heart.

As I continue on this journey, I am embracing the revelation that the baptism of fire leads to purification and transforms me to become fully alive in Christ, reflecting His glory to the world around me. I am learning to hold tightly to the promise that He is with me, guiding me to become the person He has created me to be — one who bears His image. With every “yes” I easily or painfully give to Him, I trust that His fire will lead me to walk in the fullness of His calling.