Refined Silver
REFINED SILVER
Read Job 23:10-14.
Martin didn’t understand why his mother had to be in the accident. Why did God let it happen?
One day during hospital visiting hours Mom seemed to sense Martin’s feelings. She said, “Don’t be angry. I believe God is refining me to make me more like Jesus. I was so busy that I was drifting away from a close walk with the Lord. Now that I’m lying here flat on my back, I have to look up to God.” Martin nodded.
Later that week Martin’s class took a field trip to a silver-refining plant. The refining process used chemicals and all sorts of complex equipment. At the end of the tour they saw a simple, old furnace. Their guide explained that they kept this furnace to remind themselves of how far the silver industry had come. “Years ago silver refiners heated the ore in furnaces like this, cooled it, and reheated it,” he said. “It was a long process before the silver became pure.”
“How did they know when it was pure?” one of the children asked.
The guide smiled. “We’re told that when the refiner could see a clear reflection of himself in the silver, he knew his job was done.”
That evening Martin thought about what Mom had said. Perhaps Jesus had let her suffer from the accident because Jesus knew that in the end she would better reflect His love.
HOW ABOUT YOU?
Do you ever wonder why people have to suffer? Sometimes God allows a tragic thing to happen because He knows it will make us more like Him. Don’t rebel when God works to make you pure. Just as purified silver shows a clear reflection of the refiner, so your life should show a clear reflection of Jesus.
TO MEMORIZE:
He knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold.
Job 23:10
LET GOD REFINE YOU.
From the book
