I am currently in an awesome Bible study. One of the scriptures that we discussed today was Malachi 3:3. As someone who has been through some trials I found it very interesting that our Father was likened to a silversmith and the believer…silver. Have you experienced or are you now in a time of refining?
I researched a bit deeper and found the article below whose author is unknown. Please observe: the silversmith does not leave the silver during refining. He keeps his eye fixed on the furnace. Should the fire exceed the slightest degree more than the heat needed, the silver will be injured.
I find great comfort in knowing that when we are in the midst of a trial and we feel the heat building, our Father is sitting, attentive to the refining process in our lives.
His desire is that we come out of the fire refined silver so that not only He can see his reflection in us but others can too.
Refining Silver
Some time ago, a few ladies met in a certain city to read the scriptures, and make them the subject of conversation. While reading the third chapter of Malachi they came upon a remarkable expression in the third verse: “And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.” One lady’s opinion was that It is intended to convey the view of the sanctifying influence of the grace of Christ. Then she proposed to visit a silversmith and report to them what he said on the subject.
She went accordingly and without telling the object of her errand, begged to know the process of refining silver, which he fully described to her. “But Sir” she said, “do you sit while the work of refining is going on?” “Oh, yes, madam,” replied the silversmith; “I must sit with my eye steadily fixed on the furnace, for if the time necessary for refining be exceeded in the slightest degree, the silver will be injured.”
The lady at once saw the beauty, and comfort too, of the expression, “He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.” Christ sees it needful to put His children into a furnace; His eye is steadily intent on the work of purifying, and His wisdom and love are both engaged in the best manner for them. Their trials do not come at random; “the very hairs of your head are all numbered.”
As the lady was leaving the shop, the silversmith called her back, and said he had forgotten to mention that the only way that he knows when the process of purifying is complete is when he sees his own image reflected in the silver….
–Author Unknown
Scripture for Today:
Malachi 3:3 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.
1 Corinthians 13:12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
Prayer for Today:
Hello Father! Thank you that you sit with us through the fire of testing with your eye keenly on us. Though these times are difficult, comfort us with the knowledge that your reflection in our lives is what you desire to see. In Jesus’name. Amen.