The Fire Test
Proverbs 17:3 (NLT) “Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but the Lord tests the heart.”
All natural precious metals are found beneath the earth. You have to dig deep to bring it up. Everyone knows that natural metals contain other metals and materials mixed with the precious metals. To purify metals, place them in a high-temperature furnace, hot enough to melt the metal, and the impure metals begin to separate from the pure metal. The impurities rise to the top, and the raw, heavier metal sinks to the bottom. The impure metal on top is called slag, which gets scraped off. The entire process takes time and a lot of work. But when the process is done, you have pure metal.
God sees us as unrefined precious metals. We have many impurities inside us that keep us from becoming who we can be. A miner doesn’t throw away a metal just because it has impurities. A miner knows they must apply extreme heat to get the junk out of the metal. Sometimes God allows the same things to happen to us. He allows struggles to bring the fire and heat. We get to the point where we can’t take it anymore, but he is right there, ready to wipe away the slag in our lives. When we confess our sins to Him, it is like slag rising to the top. Then God forgives and wipes away the impurities.
Some trials and tribulations test us. God tests your heart, not your mind. Your mind can easily memorize the right things to do, but your heart is what motivates and drives you to commit to doing the right things. Your heart gives you the courage to do what is right in the presence of fear. If you are in the middle of a struggle and you’ve been praying to God to remove the struggle, God may not do that at all. A perfect example is when Moses sent 12 spies to the land of Canaan. Ten of the men were afraid and reported there were Giants in the land. They said there was no way they could defeat the Giants. Only two men (Joshua and Caleb) reported We can take the land with God’s help! The test was whether the men trusted in their own ability or trusted God to fight their battles.
God wants you to trust in Him in all things. When you trust Him during trials, He purifies your heart, and you pass the test by trusting Him to fight all your battles!
Be Blessed!
Ron
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