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Refiner's Fire
Zechariah 13:9
"And I will put this third into the fire,
and refine them as one refines silver,
and test them as gold is tested.
They will call upon my name,
and I will answer them.
I will say, ‘They are my people’;
and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”
I recently acquired a new devotional book by Charles Spurgeon which has lovely reminders of the promises of God. For this month's devotional, I thought I would quote some of his reflections on this verse from Zechariah:
"Grace transforms us into precious metal, and then the fire and furnace of suffering follow as a necessary consequence. Are we alarmed by this? Would we sooner be considered worthless that we might be inactive, like the stones of the field?
"The fire only refines; it does not destroy. We are to be brought through the fire, not left in it. The Lord values his people as silver, and therefore he is at pains to purge away their dross. If we are wise, we will welcome the refining process rather than decline it. Our prayer will be that our alloy may be taken from us rather than that we should be withdrawn from the crucible."
I read elsewhere about the process a silversmith uses to refine his metal. He heats it and then skims the impurities off the top until he can see his face reflected in the surface. What a beautiful metaphor for how Jesus refines us - skimming away our sin and imperfections through trials until we reflect his face.
Regardless of our circumstances today, this is my prayer for each of us - that we may be formed more in the image of Jesus as we are given grace to endure whatever crucible we are currently in. Please join us this Friday as we share the consolations of music, fellowship, and prayer.
Janna Williamson, pianist
Quote taken from The Promises of God: A New Edition of the Classic Devotional Based on the English Standard Version by Charles Spurgeon, edited and updated by Tim Chester
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