Refiner’s Fire

Refiner’s Fire

Our Refiner . . . will take what is impure and make it pure. He will take what is dull and make it beautiful. He’ll take what is of potential value and reveal the actual value. He will transform us into treasure.

Kay Arthur

The furnace of affliction is never fired up to destroy you; it’s meant to refine you. Those who follow Me can attest that there is no painless path to heaven (1 Peter 4:12). When your trials seem too heavy to bear, trust in My unchanging, purifying love. This intense time seems endless, but it will not last forever—only for a little while. Trust My goodness and know that after you pass through the flames, you will arrive at a place of indescribable joy.

In the Refiner’s fire, impurities rise to the top. Sin is confessed and forgiven. You develop a heart that is totally dependent upon Me. I reveal attitudes and behaviors that need to change. The process is never enjoyable. It scorches. It feels unwarranted. It tempts you to turn your back on Me. But remember that “the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:3-4, NIV). Allow Me to do My refining work in you.

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

1 Peter 1:6-7, NIV