under fire
“He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver.” Malachi 3:3
Fantastic counterculture last night. We talked about being under fire and how fire is a powerful source of change. I don’t know if it is just the fact that in the past 6 months my life has changed pretty drastically or what, but it really resonated with me. In refining silver, there is a long process of removing the impurities for there to be something that is valuable. Being under fire gets rid of everything that is impure and allows the silver to be something that is valuable. Through our turmoil, God can mold and shape us, it is a long and arduous process, but one that God is there for throughout the entire process. In refining metals, they can’t be left alone or they may get too hot and be ruined… God is constantly shaping and changing us and cares how long we’re in the fire.
The other major piece of this message had to do with testing. At first that made me slightly uncomfortable as I don’t like to think that God does things to test me because that’s not really the God that I know and follow. I really don’t think that God throws problems our way to make sure that we’re faithful. Though this could have been where the message went, it didn’t. Instead it was more about us testing God. This isn’t saying that it’s a good thing to test God by jumping off a cliff and asking God to save us. We all know that wouldn’t end well. Instead it was much more of an interactive test where we make attempts to discover who God truly is and seek to know how much God truly loves us. We do things like move 1500 miles away to an unknown city and an unknown job not only because we want to work for God, but also to make sure that God’s calling is true and right and good. Trust and faith in God is a tough thing to grasp, something that isn’t always second nature, especially if we’re under fire. It isn’t easy to be under fire, and it isn’t easy to just give in to God’s will in our lives. I have peace while under fire because I know that God is right there shaping, refining, and forming me into something that is utterly beautiful in God’s eyes. The most interesting piece is that when silver is ready, a silversmith sees his/her reflection in the silver. When we’re ready, God sees a reflection in us like in a mirror.
Fantastic counterculture last night. We talked about being under fire and how fire is a powerful source of change. I don’t know if it is just the fact that in the past 6 months my life has changed pretty drastically or what, but it really resonated with me. In refining silver, there is a long process of removing the impurities for there to be something that is valuable. Being under fire gets rid of everything that is impure and allows the silver to be something that is valuable. Through our turmoil, God can mold and shape us, it is a long and arduous process, but one that God is there for throughout the entire process. In refining metals, they can’t be left alone or they may get too hot and be ruined… God is constantly shaping and changing us and cares how long we’re in the fire.
The other major piece of this message had to do with testing. At first that made me slightly uncomfortable as I don’t like to think that God does things to test me because that’s not really the God that I know and follow. I really don’t think that God throws problems our way to make sure that we’re faithful. Though this could have been where the message went, it didn’t. Instead it was more about us testing God. This isn’t saying that it’s a good thing to test God by jumping off a cliff and asking God to save us. We all know that wouldn’t end well. Instead it was much more of an interactive test where we make attempts to discover who God truly is and seek to know how much God truly loves us. We do things like move 1500 miles away to an unknown city and an unknown job not only because we want to work for God, but also to make sure that God’s calling is true and right and good. Trust and faith in God is a tough thing to grasp, something that isn’t always second nature, especially if we’re under fire. It isn’t easy to be under fire, and it isn’t easy to just give in to God’s will in our lives. I have peace while under fire because I know that God is right there shaping, refining, and forming me into something that is utterly beautiful in God’s eyes. The most interesting piece is that when silver is ready, a silversmith sees his/her reflection in the silver. When we’re ready, God sees a reflection in us like in a mirror.
This entry was posted
on Sunday, January 15, 2006 at 10:49 AM.
You can skip to the end and leave a response.
1 Comments:
Lara,
What I've always experienced is that while God may test, the Lord never Tempts (it's one way to tell where it's coming from). And by the way testing isn't necessarily about bringing problems to deal with, but also about dealing with mystery and living love and being trust.
Craig S
By
Anonymous, at
5:46 PM
Post a Comment