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); that trials will bring forth as gold (Job 23:10); that affliction produces eternal glory (2 Corinthians 4:17) and that when discipline has its affect if yields righteousness (Hebrews 12:11).

Remember, God is working out the “wrongness” in us to put in His “rightness”. It is a high cost for us to go through these fiery trials of life on this planet, but the end result is what we are looking for…righteousness, peace, and joy! Endure the fire...it's producing pure gold!

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