Today's Devotional Thought
April 22, 2013 by Rachel Piferi
Refiner's Fire
I have always been intrigued by the passages of Scripture that refer to God being our refiner and how he refines and purifies us through our trials and temptations. In several places throughout the Bible, you see reference to our refinement. It intrigued me enough to research what the process of refinement of gold and silver really is. And this is what I found…
When we look at the process of “making??? gold usable, the final stage is refinement. And this stage involves removing the impurities by putting the gold through a series of fires so that the impurities can be sifted off. Without the fire, the gold cannot be purified.
What an amazing analogy to our own lives. As we read throughout the Bible, we are constantly told that we are being refined like gold and silver by our maker. Much like gold refining is the process of separating the impurities from the pure metal, our own personal refining is also the process of separating our impurities from our self. And, this can only be done by heating it with fire until it melts. In one of the articles on gold refining that I was reading, it said that when those impurities are taken away the worker is able to see his reflection in the smooth and pure surface.
God is that worker in our lives. He heats up our lives and melts us, but only because he wants to take out the impurities in our lives and make us pure. And, when that is done then people can see Jesus reflected in us.
In today’s verse it is mentioned that the Levites will be refined and for those of you who know your Old Testament history, the Levites were the leaders. So ladies, those of you who are leaders will especially go through this refining process. James 3:1 says “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.??? God has made it very clear for those of us who teach and lead others that we will be held to a different standard. We must be open to this refining process so that others will see more and more clearly the face of Jesus glorified in our lives.
Do you feel like you are going through the fire? Rest assured friends that God is there removing the impurities from your life. God desires to make you more like Him. He desires for your life to be pure and full of abundant joy, overflowing with love and peace.
Let me leave you today with a statement that I found in one of the articles about the process of gold refinement. The statement said, “What happens next depends on how the gold will be used.??? Friends, the same can be said of our refinement processes. God has a plan for your life and he knows what you will face. And, he will refine you to be ready for that assignment. Remember friends, that he desires for you to be refined to fulfill the plans that he has for you and so that his face can be reflected in your purified self. If you’re going through the refiner’s fire today just know that when you come out the other side you will be shiny and pure and even more ready to serve Him in the ways that he has planned.
December