And I said to him, "My Lord, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones who are coming out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." Rev. 7:14.
One night as a group of women met together they stumbled across the verse in Malachi 3:3 that declares that God "will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver" (NIV). They were curious about what God and a refiner of silver would have in common. After some discussion the women broke up for the evening, with one of them promising to find out more about the process of refining silver that week.
The woman made an appointment to go to a silver workshop. As she watched the silversmith hold the silver on the hottest part of the flame, she asked why he was doing it. "It is because the heat of the flame takes away all impurities," the man explained. "The hotter the flame, the purer the metal is when it comes out."
She noticed that he carefully held the silver in exactly the right spot, and he didn't once take his eyes off it.
The woman was still curious. "But how do you know when the silver is ready to come out of the flame?"
"Oh, that's easy," the refiner replied. "I know it's ready when I can see my reflection in it."
The basic meaning behind the word translated "tribulation" is "pressure" or "hard circumstances." We can all relate to the idea of "great tribulation" since we have all experienced events in our lives that have brought us great stress, trauma, and pressure. When we pass through such times of tribulation it is nearly impossible to believe that anything good could come out of intense suffering. It is only with the perspective of time that we can often see God's refining hand reaching into our lives and using the pain of our hard experiences to purify us and bring us to a level of usefulness that could not have happened any other way.
Whenever I feel that I am in an unbearably "hot spot," I take comfort in the fact that my "Refiner" is holding me very carefully. Despite what it might feel like, I can be sure that He won't ever leave me alone, not even for a second. And I can rejoice in the fact that if the suffering continues longer than I think necessary, it is because He has a goal for me. By the time I am ready to be taken out of the "fire," He will be able to see His reflection in me! I don't care how hard things may become--nothing is more thrilling than the thought that when all is said and done, I will be more like Jesus!
Lord, I am tempted to ask You to take away the problems that make my life difficult right now. Instead, do whatever will best prepare the way for my future growth and usefulness.
One night as a group of women met together they stumbled across the verse in Malachi 3:3 that declares that God "will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver" (NIV). They were curious about what God and a refiner of silver would have in common. After some discussion the women broke up for the evening, with one of them promising to find out more about the process of refining silver that week.
The woman made an appointment to go to a silver workshop. As she watched the silversmith hold the silver on the hottest part of the flame, she asked why he was doing it. "It is because the heat of the flame takes away all impurities," the man explained. "The hotter the flame, the purer the metal is when it comes out."
She noticed that he carefully held the silver in exactly the right spot, and he didn't once take his eyes off it.
The woman was still curious. "But how do you know when the silver is ready to come out of the flame?"
"Oh, that's easy," the refiner replied. "I know it's ready when I can see my reflection in it."
The basic meaning behind the word translated "tribulation" is "pressure" or "hard circumstances." We can all relate to the idea of "great tribulation" since we have all experienced events in our lives that have brought us great stress, trauma, and pressure. When we pass through such times of tribulation it is nearly impossible to believe that anything good could come out of intense suffering. It is only with the perspective of time that we can often see God's refining hand reaching into our lives and using the pain of our hard experiences to purify us and bring us to a level of usefulness that could not have happened any other way.
Whenever I feel that I am in an unbearably "hot spot," I take comfort in the fact that my "Refiner" is holding me very carefully. Despite what it might feel like, I can be sure that He won't ever leave me alone, not even for a second. And I can rejoice in the fact that if the suffering continues longer than I think necessary, it is because He has a goal for me. By the time I am ready to be taken out of the "fire," He will be able to see His reflection in me! I don't care how hard things may become--nothing is more thrilling than the thought that when all is said and done, I will be more like Jesus!
Lord, I am tempted to ask You to take away the problems that make my life difficult right now. Instead, do whatever will best prepare the way for my future growth and usefulness.
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