Lay It on Me

A T HRESHING B EFORE THE F INAL B LESSING / 73

become everything God intends. The chaff could be pride, rebellion or stubbornness. It could represent something that, if it surfaced down the road, could ruin your family, your life or your ministry. When John the Baptizer described Christ's ministry, he said: His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire (Matthew 3:12). What weakness do you have that raises its head from time to time? Do you have a short fuse in dealing with people? Are you quick to judge things prematurely? Do you, like Tarzan jumping from tree to tree, jump from mood swing to mood swing because of things you like and don't like? Before God uses you on a large scale, before He brings millions of dollars into your business, you will spend some nights on the winnowing floor! Frustrations are not always caused by blatant sin or hidden sins. Often, the little foxes spoil the vines. Undesirable personality traits, personal feelings and opinions are like the chaff to the barley. In the grain, there is precious fruit the farmer has worked so hard to produce. Yet, the outside is a hard shell, the chaff, that must be broken off in order to yield the barley. Likewise, the chaff in our lives must be broken off so that we can produce the fruit that God desires in our lives. The process of moving from blessing to blessing and climbing from 30-fold to 100-fold is connected to your ability to accept