The Refining Process

2 Corinthians 3:18, NKJV

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Amy Carmichael took a group of children to a traditional gold-smith in India. In the middle of a charcoal fire was a curved roof tile. On the tile was a mixture of salt, tamarind fruit, and brick dust. Embedded in this mixture was gold. As the fire devoured the mixture, the gold became purer. The goldsmith took the gold out with tongs and, if it was not pure enough, he replaced it in the fire with a new mixture. But each time the gold was replaced, the heat was increased. The group asked, “How do you know when the gold is purified?” He replied, “When I can see my face in it.”

In the beginning, God made us in His image (Gen. 1:27), but that image has been corrupted by sin. God’s desire is to restore us to what we should have been originally. For this to happen we must go through a refining process. Like gold, we must be purified and transformed until a Christlike character is developed in us. As we walk through the trials of life, God often uses those times to refine us. The refining fires can feel hot, consuming, and at times out of control. Always remember God is the refiner and is watching the process carefully to make sure you aren’t consumed by the fire. Job understood this concept when he said, “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” (Job 23:10)

The good news is that God sees us not full of impurity, but full of potential. He, in the refining imagery, is the refiner and we are the lump of unrefined gold, full of impurity and full of potential beauty. Though the refining process is hot: it does not consume but purifies. The furnace of affliction in the family of God is always for refinement, never for destruction. God promises in Isaiah 43:2, “WHEN YOU PASS THROUGH THE WATERS, I WILL BE WITH YOU; AND THROUGH THE RIVERS, THEY WILL NOT OVERWHELM YOU. WHEN YOU WALK THROUGH FIRE, YOU WILL NOT BE SCORCHED, NOR WILL THE FLAME BURN YOU."

In what areas of your life can the Lord and others see His image reflected? In what areas does His refining process need to remove the dross that hinders you from being all He has called you to be?

Ponder !!!!