From The Crucible (by Pastor Linda Pugsley)

None of us like the “suffering” part of anything…and rightly so! We love the blessings part from God, but what about those sufferings?

God does tell us about trials and fiery ordeals, but His viewpoint about them is quite different from ours. He says the reproved man is a happy man (Job 5:17); trials will bring us forth as gold (Job 23:10); affliction produces an eternal glory (2 Corinthians 4:17); and that when discipline has its affect it yields righteousness (Hebrews 12:11).

Remember, God is working out the “wrongness” in us to put His “rightness in us. It is a high cost for us to go through these fiery trials, but the end result is what we are all looking for…righteousness, peace and joy!

We need to be reminded that the afflictions constructed and/or allowed by God are HOLY. The intended result is our sanctification and the building up of our faith and trust in Him. As we reflect on this, remember the story about the goldsmith who tends to the smelting of the raw gold ore. The process involves heating the ore to an extremely high temperature BUT not too high. As the gold melts in the heat, it sinks to the bottom because it is a heavy metal and all the impurities rise to the top and are skimmed off. Much to the dismay of the gold, this process is REPEATED over and over again until the gold is pure gold and all the impurities are gone.

Sound familiar? Is the heat rising in your circumstances? Do you have that sinking feeling? We are under the care of our Lord, the Expert Goldsmith. Do not fear, you are in good hands, He knows what He is doing. Enter His rest during your afflictions and let the blessings flow. Endure the fire…it’s producing pure gold!

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