In the Refiner’s Fire

He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver… (Malachi 3:3)

Today, I am taking some of my devotional from an email my husband received.  He read it to me and I knew it was a perfect way to start the week.  I pray it touches you, as it has touched me.  Here it is:

The above verse puzzled a group in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.  One of them 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 that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

~Author Unknown

Isn’t it amazing to think that God is refining each one of us at the same time?  The fire may be hotter for some, but I can guarantee you one thing for sure God is watching you.  He is not missing out on a moment of your life.  Just like the silversmith keeps his eye on the silver until he sees his image in it, so also God is keeping His eye on you.  Isn’t it a magnificent thought to know the Father is anticipating the moment He’ll see His image in You?  I don’t know about you, but I know myself.

Sometimes I long for the fire to cool off because it just gets too hot at times.  Then I read something like this and think…Okay God, “You can make the fire as hot as You want to make it, if it means that some day Your image will be seen in me!”  That is what I desire.  I don’t want people to see me.  I have a lot of impurities in myself.  If anyone could see inside my heart or my mind, they would see a lot of ugliness.  I’m so thankful that God continues to refine me, so that I might become more pure.  I want to be a reflection of the purest One I know.  Jesus was the purest One to walk this earth and each day I long to be a little more like Him and a little less like this world.

Lord, I pray that You will refine my heart.  Purify my mind.  Cleanse me from the things that are not of You.  I know that there is so much in me that needs an overhaul, so take your bulldozer and feel free to bulldoze over the ugliness in my life.  Please stir up the flames and make things as hot as they need to be, so I can be as pure as possible for You!

Being Refined in Your Fire,