Humans are “lazy” by nature and will take the path of least resistance whenever it is available. But it is through the pressure, tension and resistance in our lives that we are made strong, both physically and spiritually. We are strengthened and purified through the various “fire” experiences in our life. It may seem like a situation is unbearable and we will never survive the experience, but then we see the light at the end of the tunnel and know we have made it through the fiery storm. When we come out on the other side of the fire, we are able to look back and gain strength from what we have just gone through.
As a Christian, the Lord is our Refiner. He uses the fiery storms in our lives to create the heat that is needed to bring the impurities in us to the surface. If we trust the Lord and surrender our life situations to Him, He is able to remove our imperfections. Our goal should be to be transformed into mirror images of Christ for the world to see. To do this, there needs to be less of us and more of Him.
“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image…” – 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NKJV)
When refining gold, the refiner must heat up the gold and keep it at the right temperature long enough for all the impurities to rise to the surface and be skimmed off. If the gold is allowed to cool before the purification process is complete, the gold will harden with impurities still in it. If the refiner heats up the gold too hot, the gold will be ruined. The refiner must keep the gold at just the right temperature until he is able to see his perfect reflection in it. This is what the Lord does in our lives every day. He allows just the right storms in our lives to heat us up to just the right temperature to purify us, it is never too hot or too cold…It is always just right.
Trust Him to get you through the fires of your life, you will come out stronger on the other side.