Thought for the Day

In this verse, we see the analogy between the refining of silver and gold and the refining of God's people. God tries the hearts of all people in order to find out what is in them. He does this by giving us a choice when we are faced with temptation. We can yield to the pressure that Satan brings against us, or we can resist it and stand in faith to receive God's promises. No matter what Satan does, we have been given a way to overcome him through the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 10:13). We can praise God in our trials, believing that He will bring us through victoriously, or we can turn on God and blame Him for all our troubles.

Just as the refining pot is heated to bring out the impurities in silver and gold, the devil "heats up" our circumstances. In moments of temptation, we are faced with what is in our hearts. Sometimes fear, doubt, and unbelief will come to the surface. These will conquer us, if we do not turn to God. Only by calling upon Him to deliver us from the evil in our hearts can we have victory. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly perverse and corrupt and severely, mortally sick! Who can know it (perceive, understand, be acquainted with his own heart and mind)? I the LORD, search the mind, I try the heart, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings" (Jeremiah 17:9-10, AMP).

Evil does not proceed from God; it is present in our hearts and the world because of our sin. He has instructed us on how to overcome it, and He made a way through the Holy Spirit for us to do so. We must choose to resist sin; God will not do it for us. When we do what is right and obey His Word, the Spirit empowers us to overcome every sin and Satanic attack. Each time we pass a test, we grow in His righteousness. "And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness" (Malachi 3:3).

In the refining process, gold is reduced to a liquid by very high temperatures. Its impurities come to the surface and the dross is skimmed off. This process is repeated many times, at higher temperatures. When there is no more dross that surfaces and the refiner can see his own image in the gold, he knows that it is completely pure. This is a picture of the refining process we go through as God's children. Like gold, we are not destroyed by this process, however uncomfortable it may be. We simply become pure and pliable, reflecting the beauty of Christ Himself.