Refined like Silver - A contribution from Ray Thorne

I also received a wonderful message from my wife this morning. It is about how God put us through the fire like a Silversmith with silver and how He watches us until He can see His image then He know that we have been refined. I do not think that we will ever be fully refined as the Lord said in 2 Cor 4.17-18 that our afflictions are light, temporary and they are there to take us from glory to glory so amidst the trials and tribulations know that God is in the eye of the storm and that He does not give us more than we can bear and also make a way of escape for us, 1 Cor. 10:13.


Now stop complaining and thank God for His loving preparation. Remember nothing good comes easy. And the secret to success is the constant refining of what we have already done


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


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 get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him 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, 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 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 says: "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 whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered tha t yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver 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, "Oh, that's easy -- 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 you until He sees His image in you. Pass this on right now. This very moment, someone needs to know that God is watching over them. And, whatever they're going through, they'll be a better person in the end. "Life is a coin. You can spend it anyway you wish, but you can only spend it once."

"Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalms 37:4)


From Ray .

We can do all things through Christ who Strengthens Us.