Blessings Friends,
In my last post, Under Attack: Overcoming Adversity, I talked about the fact that, while Satan seeks to destroy our faith and discourage us through physical and spiritual attacks, ultimately, it is God who is the Author of our experiences.
He is our Creator, and only He knows what each of us needs to reach our ultimate goal
—which should be to be so like Him, we are one with Him.
This is His desire for us, what gives our lives purpose and direction. For, we were created in His likeness, but were mutated by sin, as a healthy cell is mutated into a cancerous weapon that turns on the body and seeks to destroy it.
God gave us the cure for this cancer, the only cure, in the sacrifice of His precious Son.
But it is not merely the acceptance of this cure that brings restoration with our Creator. It is trusting His ultimate plan for us, and submitting our will to His. Faith and obedience—in all things.
I referred to Malachi 3:3 in Under Attack: Overcoming Adversity, which speaks of how we are refined by the fire. God uses adversity to reveal our impurities and, if we humbly submit to Him, He is faithful to remove them from us. This is faith and obedience.
I received the following illustration of this from a friend and refer to it often when I am in the midst of the fire. I wanted to share it with you.
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 didn’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 hold 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 you are held by the Great Silversmith.
Ask Him to reveal your impurities—whatever is keeping you from unity with Him—and then give it up to Him. He is faithful to remove our impurities and make us shine like purest silver, so that all who look on us will see our Father.
And that’s what it’s all about.
God’s grace and peace be with you,
Rebecca
