THE REFINER'S FIRE

"Yet He knows the way I have taken; when He has tested me, I will emerge as pure gold." (Job 23:10 HCSB)

Gold is a valuable commodity. During the refining process, the gold is heated, so that the slag--contaminants--can be drawn off, and all that remains is the precious metal. The gold is not harmed by the fire--only refined.

For the child of God, faith is the precious spiritual commodity we must have. The profession of faith will be tested by the fire. If it is real, it will endure. More than that, faith is not only proven, but purified in the fire.

Peter spoke to Christians' who were facing persecution, when he said, "You rejoice in this, though now for a short time you have had to struggle in various trials so that the genuineness of your faith--more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire-may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 1:6, 7 HCSB)

Job finds some meaning and encouragement in this truth. There is an occasional shaft of light that breaks through the somber clouds of his confusion. He describes his trials in terms of gold being smelted. His conviction is that his faith will emerge unharmed. His three friends were accusing him of being a hypocrite. They were convinced Job was an egregious sinner and that was why he was suffering. Job knew better--and most importantly Job knew that God was aware of the reality of his faith.

Even in the best of us, however, there remains the contamination of sin to some degree. You can't walk through a coal mine without getting some black on you, and you cannot walk through this dirty world and be totally pure. But, God is refining us, and He uses the fiery trial to purify us. In salvation, the Lord has extracted gold ore from the world, but there remains residue of the world to be extracted from the ore--and that is the work of sanctification.

The hymn writer, John Keith captured this thought in a stanza of "How Firm a Foundation" thusly:

“When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,

My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply;

The flame shall not harm thee; I only design

Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine."

Are you in a fiery trial today? One thing is certain, God will use this to refine you. If your faith is genuine, all that will remain is precious material--so malleable--that will be shaped into the very likeness of Jesus Christ--placed on display in glory someday--a trophy of grace!