A “through the bible” devotion from Psalm 66.
For you, O God, have tested us;
you have tried us as silver is tried. (Psalm 66:10)
I found these fascinating words in a little commentary on this psalm: “Silver is pure enough when the refiner can see his image in the molten metal.”
You know how silver (and gold) is refined, don’t you? You heat the metal up until it is a liquid. Once that happens, any impurities will also melt and rise to the surface. The refiner skims all of that off, leaving the pure silver beneath. It now reflects the refiner’s image.
The analogy is powerful. God tests and tries us like precious metal. He heats up our circumstances, allowing temptation, crises, difficult people, and unexpected expenses into our lives. He does all that to bring us to repentance and dependance on him. His forgiveness purifies us from our failures, shame, guilt, and all the stupid things we’ve done. And then guess what? You can see him reflected in our lives. Pretty cool, huh?
Now when we’re going through it, it’s not so cool. It’s hot. It’s hard. It makes us want to wail, “I’m melting!” But it’s worth it. Who else can take our mess and make it magjificent?
Waite for it... 