Refiner's Fire
Psalm 66
Joseph’s life was turned upside down when his brothers sold him into slavery. But that was not the end of Joseph’s story.
He had sent a man ahead of them — Joseph, who was sold as a slave. They hurt his feet with shackles; his neck was put in an iron collar. Until the time his prediction came true, the word of the LORD tested him. (Psalm 105:17-19 CSB)
Too many times in my life I have had to begin all over again. There have been poor decisions on my part, and there have also been times of great betrayal (which often led to those poor decisions). But that is not the end of my story.
For You, God, tested us; You refined us as silver is refined. You lured us into a trap; You placed burdens on our backs. You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but You brought us out to abundance. (Psalm 66:10-12 CSB)
It is so easy to blame other people and the enemy for the hard things that happen to us. However, the words in this Psalm say that God allowed a time of testing and burdens, a time of hardship caused by the actions of others. Now I am not saying that God caused these things, because He is a good God who gives good things, but He does permit difficult things:
as a consequence of our sin,
when others negative behaviors and bad choices impact us
because we live in a fallen, broken world
… we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. (Romans 5:3-5)
So God does not cause bad things to happen to us, but He does use those adversities as opportunities for us to dive deeper into trusting Him, knowing Him, loving Him.
Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, when you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing. (James 1:2-4 CSB)
Yeah, I’m not yet there with considering my adversities a great joy. But my story is still being written by the One who is Faithful and True.
Refiner’s Fire
Lord help us while we are letting endurance have its full effect! 🙏 And Mary, your embroidery is beautiful! Thank you for sharing that photo and this article. I’m encouraged by you!
I, too, am contemplating fire and refinement this week. We do live in a world that has suffering, and it’s hard! Thank you for the reminder that God’s love is endless and so we endure swimming in those cooling waters until we are transformed and shaped anew.