Refining

“This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them: I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.'” –Zechariah 13:9 

Many years ago, I was on a sales call at a foundry in upstate Pennsylvania. It was like all other foundries I had visited—hot, dry, hot, dusty, hot, dirty and…hot. While chatting with my customer, I saw a man pushing a huge crucible along a track and commented to the safety manager that he looked much older than the usual foundry laborer.  

“Oh yes,” he replied. “He’s been here over thirty years!” 

The worker’s grimy, torn tee shirt revealed a lean, muscular physique. Through years of heavy exertion in the heat, his body—like the metal—had become refined. As younger, slower and “less refined” coworkers plodded along slowly in the factory, he moved more quickly and purposefully.  

Refining Fire

Refining is mentioned in the bible several times. When gold is refined by fire, its impurities rise to the top and are skimmed off the surface. It’s a dramatic process and beautifully illustrates how God’s fire can purify us when it burns within. But fire is a stress, isn’t it? A trial of sorts. Peter writes: 

“Though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trial, these have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” -1 Peter 1:6-7 

Everybody would like to be pure but not all are willing to endure the trials that lead to refinement. We want to “bring offerings in righteousness” (Mal 3:3) but the path has no shortcuts. The roughest stretches of the journey afford us the most growth. As we read in James:

“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial  because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” –James 1:12

The pains and trials of today are going to prepare you for something one way or the other, depending on how we choose to look at them. The gentleman in the foundry didn’t get in that kind of shape in a week, a year, or even ten years. He persevered and was transformed in the process. Just as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were not alone in the furnace (Daniel 3), neither are you alone…even if it feels like it sometimes. Fix your eyes upon Jesus Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith. Then take a breath, take a step and let the refining begin! 

– ABOUT THE AUTHOR –