Fire purification
During my treatments a lady visited my home ....she was a friend of a friend. My friend had told her we were going through some hard times. This lady shared that she and her husband were going through hard times. I shared with her that I had already had seen so many blessings that I did not think I could have turned back. She said she, her husband, Mike and I should feel so blessed because God is trying to refine us like gold. When a goldsmith polishes his gold he has to clean out all of the trash and impurities in the gold. When he can see his reflection then he knows it is refined. When she left I looked up the scripture and found "... so then the tested genuineness of your faith - more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire - may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ."
First Peter 1: 5-7 says, “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold-though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.” Hold on, sis and trust Him every step of the way. Zechariah 13: 9, "And I will put the 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.'' Isaiah 48: 10, "See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction."
In biblical times, a refiner crushed hardened rock (ore) because they knew the rock had the promise of valuable land rare metals hidden within like gold and silver. The crushed ore is put into a melting pot that can withstand extreme heat. It is put into the furnace at the precise temperature to remove other metals such as gold and silver. A layer of impurities form on the surface. The refiner painstakingly skims off these impurities, he then turns up the heat again and again. Up to seven times. Impurities continue to rise to the surface. Only certain impurities are released at certain temperatures. After the last skimming there is gleaming gold and shimmering silver. Much more precious than before. To gauge his progress, the refiner looks for his own reflection on the surface of the metal. When the refiner sees a clear reflection of himself the process is complete.
Remember, the pain God allows in your life is purposeful. A refiner's fire does not destroy, it refines. It separates the impurities from the silver and gold. Because of using fire there will always be fear and trembling in the process of becoming pure. As the heat intensifies in your life, know that the Lord will never leave you nor forsake you. Malachi 3:3, "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify....and refine them like gold and silver."
As we trust Him to use our trials to cleanse our character and purify our hearts, we will begin to see the “silver lining.” Your faith will be greater which is worth more than gold and will result in praise, glory and honor to Jesus Christ!