I recalled this great devotion from a long time ago. There is a lot of spiritual warfare going on now and God’s faithful servants seem to be in a great but painful time of purification. I believe it is so we can be ready when we are called up for what could be the toughest battles we have ever faced.
I hope you find strength and courage in this devotion. In your toughest hour, know that God has you in his closest care.
Zec 13:9 “And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’; and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”
Malachi 3:3 says: “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver…”
This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.
One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.
That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She diddn’t mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of
refining silver.
As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to ho ld the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: “He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.”
She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.
The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.
The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, “How do you know when the silver is fully refined?” He smiled at her and answered, “Oh, that’s easy — when I see my image in it.”
If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.
-John
Posted under FROM THE HEART
This post was written by John on December 13, 2008
Good stuff my brother! So many times God’s refining process is blamed on satan and viewed as something bad. We may not like how God refines us at times, but it is a necessary process. My advice is to go to God’s word, spend time with Him, and see the refining process. When something you don’t understand happens, or something that you think is bad, don’t automatically give satan the credit for it. It just might be God refining and growing you.