Job 23:8-11 Behold I go forward, but he is not there, and backward, but I cannot perceive him. On the left hand where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand that I cannot see him. but he KNOWETH the way that I take when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
Gold was the first metal mentioned in the Bible (Gen. 2:12) and is referenced again and again for its worth. It is also referenced in the process that it undergoes to become a “precious” metal.
Did you know that gold melts at 1945.4 degrees Fahrenheit? *1945.4 DEGREES!! Refined in biblical days through a process of cupellation, the gold would be heated in a Capella of clay with lead and the dross of oxides that would result would be absorbed into the clay. The result would be nearly pure gold left behind.
“It is not until we have passed through the furnace that we are made to know how much dross there is in our composition.” -Charles Caleb Colton
I have faced the trials of life. And like Job, I have felt alone. I have sought Him on every hand.
Still, I choose the furnace.
1 Peter 4:12-13 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But REJOICE, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
During a particularly desperate time recently, I was talking with my Pastor after church. He said, “Sister, life is full of seasons, and there are some seasons when it’s all you can do to survive.”
It does not take much time for our souls to start to protest when we are faced with the intense heat of a trial. The result can be spiritual *heat exhaustion* if we are not careful.
Just as we should protect our physical body when we are faced with time in the intense heat, we also need to protect our spirit. We need the rest we gain in His presence, the refreshing we gain at His feet, the strength we glean from His Word.
The time of trial by fire is the time to return again to the wells we have previously dug, to quench our thirsty souls through the outpouring of His Spirit, as He strengthens us to continue.
It may feel like we are just *surviving* our furnace, but isn’t that the key?
If we survive, if we press on, when we come out the other side of the refiner’s fire, we will be shining like pure gold. But, unlike “gold that perisheth, though it is tried with fire,” (1 Peter 1:7) our resulting faith will be more precious than the metal that comes out of the refining fire.
Zechariah 13:9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them. I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, the Lord is my God.
God knows the trials we face. He knows the exact temperature it takes to remove the impurities from our lives. All we have to do is hold fast during the fire, and in the end, our spiritual value, our worth as His people, will become more precious than gold.
Lord, thank You for reminding me over and over lately how much You love me, that You know my name, and You know what I face. You also know the way that I take. I want my faith to shine like gold before You, before the lost and broken world. I am nothing without You.
