Pure Reflection

The story is told of a group of women that met for Bible study.  While studying in the book of Malachi, chapter three, they came across verse three which says:

“He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver;”  Malachi 3:3a

This verse puzzled the women and they wondered how this statement applied to the character and nature of God.  One of the women offered to find out more about the process of refining silver, and to get back to the group at their next Bible

study.  The following week, the woman called up a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him while 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 work, 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 the 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 "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 entire time the silver was being refined.  The man answered yes, that not only did he have 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 even a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. 

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the

silversmith, "But 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."

Trials bring pain.  No news there...   When things are challenging...when they take us to the breaking point... we hurt.   Many of us wonder if the pain will ever stop.  And when it does, some just sit and wait for it to start again.  

Trial by fire.  Refining fire.  

Why me Lord? It’s easy to ask that when troubles come. We turn our eyes to Heaven and wonder what we’ve done to deserve what we’re going through.  Did we make God angry?  Is our Heavenly Father getting even with us?  Are we so bad that we’re being punished?  No.  Whether we are dealing with consequences from our own poor decisions... or life’s circumstances... or the choices made by someone else... we hurt.     We might not have created the pain... but it’s there and we have to deal with it.

Life gets heated.  Sometimes unbearably so.  

But it’s in that time of intense fire that things are burned away that never belonged.  New discoveries are made.  Our way of thinking changes...

We realize how deep our faith goes.

We see how big our God is.

We conclude that life is meant to be lived with others.

We understand that those other people care...and they’ll walk with us.

We learn what to do next time.

We reset our priorities.

We learn that God’s timing is always perfect.

We discover who runs the universe (and it isn’t us).

We develop patience.

We get stronger.

We have the chance to grow closer to Christ.

We appreciate times of peace in our lives more.

We get mad and shake our fists at the universe.  

But God... our loving God waits patiently with His arms outstretched.  

He understand heartache firsthand.  Intense heartache.  But God allows us to experience pain so that we can accomplish our purpose.  

Those fires in your life...those trials... are making you stronger.  And make no mistake...just like the silversmith...when the heat comes your way, God doesn’t move.   He is there with you while you endure under it.  

Because He knows...

when it seems like you can’t take another minute under the intense flames...

when you feel like throwing in the towel...

It WILL come to an end.  You won’t be under that pain forever.  You will be victorious.  Stronger.   You will have new skills, a deeper faith, and a compelling testimony to help others through the same thing.  I wish there was some other way to grab these skills... but it seems that pain provides the deepest and most lasting lessons.

And when the fire dies out,  Christ will look down on you... with those impurities driven away... and see a pure reflection of Himself in your life.  

Ready for Trials

“Wise people treasure knowledge, 

      but the babbling of a fool invites disaster.”

Proverbs 10:14

““It's not the will to win that matters-everyone has that. It's the will to prepare to win that matters.”  -  Paul “Bear” Bryant

     Years ago, a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. He constantly advertised for hired help. Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic. They dreaded the awful storms that raged across the Atlantic, wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops. As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he received a steady stream of refusals.

Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached the farmer. "Are you a good farm hand?" the farmer asked him. "Well, I can sleep when the wind blows," answered the little man.

Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help, hired him. The little man worked well around the farm, busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man's work. Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore. Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand's sleeping quarters. He shook the little man and yelled, "Get up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they blow away!" The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly, "No sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows."

Angered by the response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm. To his amazement, he discovered that all of the haystacks had been covered with tarps. The cows were in the barn, the chickens were in the coops, and the doors were barred. The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down.

Nothing could blow away. The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant, so he returned to his bed to also sleep while the wind blew.

You can already feel the first raindrops on your face.  The clouds are gathering and the storm is coming.  You can’t stop it or wish it away.  You are about to deal with something you never thought you would or could ever get through.  Trials, diagnoses, lay-offs, betrayal, divorce... the list goes on.  The storms of life rage and all we can do is hope to endure.

Or is there more?  What if we could anticipate trials and be ready for them?  What if we knew that no matter what happened, we had everything tied down?  What if we didn’t have to live afraid of what might be and could enjoy what is?

Today’s verse talks about just that... being prepared.  It says that “Wise people treasure knowledge”  The writer meant much more than just what you see there.  He was saying that those that are prepared for what’s coming are those that keep, process, and apply what they learn.  These are the people who read God saying “I will never leave you nor forsake you” ... and keep it in their heart.  These are the people who hear about the cross and remember that what Jesus went through during the crucifixion was for them... and that He knows our pain... and that He paid the price for our sin through it.  They know that God offers 17th chances... that we won’t always understand why things happen but will always know Who will see us through... and they know that even though they walk through a valley, like David, they won’t be walking alone.  

Knowledge is much more than facts.  Treasuring and remembering what you know prepares you for the storms of life.  It ties down what might blow around in the winds of uncertainty and fear.  What you do with what you know prepares you for what’s to come.  

Are you ready for the storm?  Let’s prepare ahead of time together so that we too can sleep when the wind blows.

Independence

“In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.”  1 Peter 5:10

Maybe you woke up today with the weight of the world on your shoulders.

Sometimes it’s what life throws at you.  Sometimes it’s discipline for a bad decision.  Every time it’s tough.  Really tough.  Hard to believe that you’ll be able to bear up under it.  Stresses, confusion, anger, bitterness, worry, and wonder... all mixed together in the soup of our day.  Life gets very very hard.     And in the midst of our pain, the devil sits nearby whispering...

“If God loved you...you wouldn’t be going through this.” 

That voice sounds so familiar.  It’s the one that tells you that you aren’t good enough... or that God has left you... or you don’t matter.

He just doesn’t let up.  

   

The saddest truth is that some of us have become convinced this is true.  It’s far easier to believe we are being punished for something than it is to think that God is allowing it to happen for us to grow.  We don’t like discipline.  We don’t like not knowing.  And if we’re being honest... we don’t like to wait on God’s timing when our own seems like a better plan.

God knows what He’s doing.  

He truly does.  

After going through a season of severe anxiety myself, I know this... You WILL be victorious over what is holding you down.   How do I know?

1. What you are feeling is for a SEASON.  

“In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.”  1 Peter 5:10

That pit in your stomach. The tears that sting your eyes.  The lies.  The abandonment.  The loneliness.  You won’t feel these forever.  Look at the verse... it says your suffering is not a permanent condition.  Of course, a little while to God may seem like an eternity to us….but God’s timing is perfect... and we need to keep in mind that there is a purpose to the pain.  It may feel like Winter now... but Spring is coming.   Endure the season... but while you are going through it... thank God for His continued love and protection.  

He is building you... one season and one challenge at a time.

1. What you are feeling is for a reason.

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to squeeze its body through the tiny hole. Then it stopped, as if it couldn’t go further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bits of cocoon. The butterfly emerged easily but it had a swollen body and shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch it, expecting that any minute the wings would enlarge and expand enough to support the body. Neither happened. In fact the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around. It was never able to fly.

What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required by the butterfly to get through the opening was a way of forcing the fluid from the body into the wings so that it would be ready for flight once that was achieved.

The butterfly was meant to go through struggle to make it capable of thriving in its life.  

Look again at today’s verse:

“In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.”  1 Peter 5:10

The very reason you hurt is because there is something in it that will refine you...  You will learn something about the depth of your faith...the strength of your God... and how very much He loves you.  

Pushing through builds perseverance.  Enduring under the weight brings strength.  Leaning on God when it hurts develops faith.  

You’ll need all three to become the person that God has created you to be.  Perseverance...strength...faith.  If life were always easy, you’d struggle with all three.  

You were designed by a loving God to stand strong in the face of adversity.  To fly.  Instead of running from the troubles or looking for shortcuts around the trials... embrace them.  It won’t be easy... Maybe you’ll want to be a martyr... or blame yourself or someone else... or feel like a victim.  

You aren’t.  God is bigger than anything you will ever come up against.  The season you are in has been long and difficult... but you’ll make it.  Never quit.  Keep moving forward... even tiny steps if you have to.  

And when the clouds part and the sun comes back out... break free... spread your wings and be a living testimony of Christ’s goodness and love.