Forged in Fire
Our family likes to watch a show that is on the History Channel, "Forged in Fire." It is a competition between four blacksmiths to make knives out of various metals. Sometimes the metals are dirty or not pure. When that happens, they then have to heat them red hot and beat the impurities out of them.
When I was a teen, I would help my dad with projects that included melting down lead or aluminum. When you do that, there is almost always impurities to float up to the top and you have to skim it off. Once the impurities are removed the metal is ready to pour.
This type of technology is used in the Bible as an illustration of how God refines His people.
"For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance." - Psalm 66:10-12
"See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction." - Isaiah 48:10
"In the whole land," declares the LORD, "two-thirds will be struck down and perish; yet one-third will be left in it. This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, 'They are my people,' and they will say, 'The LORD is our God.' " - Zechariah 13:8-9
"In 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 your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." - 1 Peter 1:6-7
Many times you may hear someone say, "Why is God letting this happen to me?" There may be different answers depending on the occasion. It may be because of the choices of ourselves or others. It may be because the rain falls on the just and the unjust. Or it could be God refining us. We may not know until after we have passed through the fire.
Life is full of transitions: adolescence, graduation, choosing college or a trade, dating, marriage, starting a family, finances, getting a job, losing a job, moving, health issues, loss of friends and family members, weather, car trouble, etc. Life is full of challenges. How do we respond to these challenges? Are we refined like silver and gold, or do we crumble?
Jay Crook