HELEN SANDERS
9-28—2022
REFINER’S FIRE

As a child we had a coal burning stove. In the winter that was our only source of heat in our entire home. It sat in the living room, and at night I would take a small blanket in front of this stove and warm it up. I would then run upstairs where there was no heat and jump under the covers with this blanket to get warm. It was a way of life. A furnace like that provided warmth and comfort on a cold wintery day.

Gold is refined in fire also. It is God’s furnace. When gold goes into the fire it must be extremely hot. Some say it is over 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. It takes that intense heat to bring the dross (impurities) to the surface. Then and only then can the dross be skimmed off. The gold is not complete until the refiner looks into the gold and sees his reflection.

As Christians, we are tried and tested in the furnace to become pure and holy. Isaiah 48:10 says, “Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.”

We must always remember that purity comes from the heat. Like diamonds are made under pressure, we are refined through our trials and pressures that come our way.
We have a choice. We can go through this time in the fire and come forth like gold, or we can resist it and not become God’s best. Is it easy going through the fire? NO! But absolutely necessary to burn those things in our lives that are sinful to God.