Refinement

"I go east, but he is not there.

I go west, but I cannot find him.

I do not see him in the north, for he is hidden.

I look to the south, but he is concealed."

Job 23:8-9 NLT

He held the precious metal to the hottest part of the fire, constantly looking for any sign of overheating.  It was not his intention to damage the silver, but only to purify it of all contaminates.  Every so often he would remove the piece from the heat to test the progress.  Once the silversmith could see his image in the silver, the refinement was complete.

God sits as such a refiner of silver, sometimes holding me to the hottest part of the fire (Malachi 3:2b-3, Zechariah 13:9).  As He takes me through testing and times of trial, though, His eye is never off me.  It is not His intention to damage me or bring me pain, but only to burn away all that does not belong.  This process of refinement continues through my whole life until the end when His image is reflected in me.

Job was going through such a purification process at the hand of Satan, but directed by a God who loved Him and was furthering His plan for Job's life.  From Job's perspective, however, he felt abandon by the God he loved and revered.  He couldn't feel God's comforting presence, couldn't detect Him at all.  He felt all alone in his pain.  Still, Job did not give up.  Instead, he pressed on, clinging to what he knew to be true about God.

I, too, can cling to what is true despite how I feel.

Faithful.  God cannot fail.  He is unable to give up, letting go of His purposes.  He never changes His mind when the going gets tough.  He can be counted on.  In fact, this character trait is so ingrained in the nature of God that when He, in the person of Jesus Christ, appears triumphantly after the Great Tribulation, He is called Faithful and True (Revelation 19:11).

Since God's character is one of faithfulness, I know without a doubt that I can trust Him.  Even when the world around me seems to be shifting and everything I thought was true is being tested, I can stand solidly on the Rock.  He promised to always be with me.  Since He can be trusted, I can know He is with me no matter what my feelings are telling me. 

Simply put, I cannot trust my feelings since they come from my fallible, sinful flesh and are highly susceptible to suggestion.  In fact, it's been my experience that my enemy loves to use my feelings against me, tempting me to believe God doesn't care about me any more, that He has abandoned me, that He could never love me, and that He can't use such a mess-up like me.  Meanwhile, the truth stands in opposition to such nonsense.  Which will I trust?

When I go through times of great suffering, I can place my trust in the God who is faithful.

Sovereign.  His creation.  His plan.  His purposes.  His choice.  I am living in a world created by God, following a plan He laid out before time began, influenced by His mysterious objectives, and ultimately, at His mercy.

God is sovereign over all of His creation.  Since I am part of His world, not He of mine, can I truly expect to do things my way and prosper?  Due to the fact that He made the rules, do I really think my procedures will work better?  While it all belongs to Him, is it really realistic to call anything "mine"?

Still, I stubbornly try.  When I submit to His sovereignty, however, realizing He is the One who gets to decide the direction my life will take, the trials I will face, and the suffering I will endure, these difficult times will take an meaning.  The hurting is not in vain but is part of what God sees as His best for me.  

When I go through times of great suffering, I can place my trust in the God who is sovereign over all things.

Steadfast.  The grasses in the field surrounding our house were waving frantically in the wind.  When a strong gust hit, stray branches would tumble across our yard.  The trees bowed low under the force of the gale but the fence posts stood firm, unwavering in their steadfastness.

God is similar to these posts, never succumbing to the pressures all around, or bowing to outside forces, or changing to adapt to the times.  Instead, God is God, and His nature and characteristics remain constant.

Since He is steady, I can cling to Him at all times, but especially in the midst of the storm when everything else is shifting.  As my world feels shaken up like a snow globe, changing my perspective and sense of reality, I can know with surety that God is right where He was before.  He will not be moved (Psalm 62:6, James 1:17).

When I go through times of great suffering, I can place my trust in the God who is steadfast and constant.

Job's faith was shaken as he suffered greatly, and in his hour of greatest need felt abandoned by the only One who could truly bring relief.  Still, he didn't turn from God, but clung to what he knew was real.  When I face hard times, no matter how severe, I can trust God who is faithful, sovereign and steadfast.  As He holds me to the refiner's fire, then, I can believe that I will come out on the other side unscathed.  My job is to hold on!

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can stay true to what I know is accurate.

When do I feel unsure of God's presence?

How am I swayed by feelings of dismay and discouragement?