The Refiner’s Fire

You have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 1:6-7

Most people think a goldsmith’s furnace is used to extract gold from its ore and burn away the dross and impurities, purifying the metal. That’s only half right. It also makes the gold pliable. Alexander of Neckham, a twelfth-century Englishman, wrote of a goldsmith who plunged the gold into the fire to soften it. As Neckham watched, the metal was molded into the required form, using tools to mold, smooth, and polish the surface.^a

As Christians, it’s not hard to see the analogy. We become more sensitive to God during hard times. We fall to our knees in helpless dependence on His grace. We rediscover the power of prayer, and we claim promises in the Bible hitherto neglected. In the process, the fire eliminates those things that might be obscuring our vision of our heavenly Father, and we are molded into the image of our Lord.

The Refiner’s fire is always for His glory and our good.

When God permits his children to go through the furnace, He keeps His eye on the clock and His hand on the thermostat.

WARREN WIERSBE^b