Enduring The Fire

October 24

"He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."
..Malachi 3:3

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 report back to the group at the next Bible Study.

That week, she called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him refine silver. As she watched him work he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needs to hold it in the middle of the fire where the flames are hottest so 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, "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver."

She asked the silversmith if it were true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time.

The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on it 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, "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 until He sees his image in you. Whatever you're going through, you'll be a better person in the end if you will just surrender into his loving hands. He can be trusted.