PURE Gold!

Pure gold is highly valued. There’s only way to produce it- heat!  When mined gold is mixed with other metals. It must be placed in a crucible where it is heated to extremely high temperatures. This allows impurities to be drawn off. The process is hard but the result is great! Do you desire a pure heart?  Do you want a faith that is strong, more than words, of real value?  Prepare for God’s crucible.  The Word speaks of God as the Refiner who heats us in the crucible of life; not for our destruction, but to make us holy.  "Who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness." (Malachi 3:2-3, NIV)

At what moments did you dig into your faith most deeply?  When have you understood yourself best? Most likely it was not when you were sailing along on smooth seas! If you look back, you learned most about the stuff of which you are made and the God you serve when you were tossed by winds that drove you to prayer.

Jesus allowed his disciples to get into tough spots. He didn't always protect them from failure or from pain. Had he done so, they would have remained dependent, childish men, incapable of making hard choices, without the faith that caused them to take the Gospel of the Kingdom to the world after He returned to Heaven. One stormy night on the Galilee Sea (Mark 6), the men who had just witnessed the miracle of the feeding of thousands were bending their backs trying to overcome the wind to get to the other side of the lake, but they couldn't make any headway. Out of the mists of rain, through the darkness, Jesus came walking across the water. They were terrified until he climbed into the boat with them. Another time they were crossing the lake when a storm kicked up and they thought they would drown.... "Master, don't you care that we're about to die?" they screamed. He awakened to say, "Peace, be still." to the storm and they learned to trust Him a little more that day! Both of these experiences produced awe and deep questions about who Jesus really was. Those questions became fertile soil which nourished the growth of deeper faith!

James 1 is familiar. "Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides." (The Message) One might ask, "Is God serious? Why would I welcome tough times as a gift, or as an "opportunity for joy?" (NLT) The short answer is that trauma produces transformation.

Are you in the crucible of life?

Pray for insight. Reflect, with the help of the Spirit and faithful counselors. Sometimes we stupidly, sinfully, or short-sightedly bring pain into our own lives! If that is why you’re in a tough time, change your ways. Turn to God in humble repentance. Peter practically reminds us that "It's better to suffer for doing good, if that's what God wants, than to be punished for doing bad." (1 Peter 3:17, The Message) 

There are those circumstances where we find ourselves in the storm that we did not create. God allows it.  Peter reminds us that when "you find life difficult because you're doing what God said, take it in stride. Trust him. He knows what he's doing, and he'll keep on doing it." (1 Peter 4:19, The Message) It is hard not to complain when we’re feeling the heat, isn’t it?  We instinctively cry for relief.  The better prayer is for courage.  “Lord, by your Spirit, help me to endure, to walk through the fire, to emerge more beautiful in character and faith.” 

The word from the Word urges us to a response of faith. "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." (James 1:2-4, NIV) "“But he knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold." (Job 23:10, NLT)

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All things work for our good,
Though sometimes
we can't see how they could.
Struggles that break our hearts in two
Sometimes blind us to the truth,
Our Father knows what's best for us;
His ways are not our own.
So when your pathway grows dim,
And you just can't see Him,
Remember, you're never alone,

He sees the master plan.
He holds the future in His hands.
So don't live as those who have no hope;
All our hope is found in Him.
We see the present clearly,
But He sees the first and the last.
And like a tapestry,
He's weaving you and me
To someday be just like Him.

God is too wise to be mistaken.
God is too good to be unkind.
So when you don't understand,
When you don't see His plan,
When you can't trace His hand,
Trust His heart.

When you don't understand,
When you don't see His plan,
When you can't trace His hand,
Trust His heart.

Trust His Heart

Carswell, Eddie / Mason, Babbie
Word Music Group, Inc. / Word Music Group, Inc.
© 1989 Dayspring Music, Inc. (a div. of Word Music Group, Inc.) / May Sun Music (Admin. by Word Music Group, Inc.) / Word Music, Inc. (a div. of Word Music Group, Inc.) / Causing Change Music (Admin. by Word Music Group, Inc.)