Refining

By Mary Spence

‭Malachi 3:2-4 NIV‬
[2] But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. [3] He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, [4] and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years.

Gold is most valuable when it is pure. To refine gold the goldsmith heats it to a very high temperature.  
Gold melts at 2000 degrees.  
Because it is very dense, when it is heated the impurities come to the top once it is liquified. Then the impurities are scraped off the top as it cools. 

Like Gold we are going through a process to sanctify us. The definition of sanctification is to make something holy; the action or process of being freed from sin or purified. 

When we think about being purified by God through a process of heating and scraping, heating and scraping, it doesn’t sound like much fun. 

But on the other side of the trials, once we have moved through that valley there is a better product. Just like the gold, which is becoming more pure and more valuable, we are becoming more like Christ though each trial and tribulation. 

In its purest form gold is soft and pliable, moldable and easy to shape. The hardness comes from added impurities like silver and lead, which are harder substances that help it resist bending and changing shape. 

As human beings we have our own impurities. Our life experiences, relationships and interactions in the world have caused us to erect walls of defense. We reinforce these walls each time we are rejected or wounded. Continuing to secure our hearts, making certain no one is getting in hardens our hearts and our walls get higher. In fact, they can become impenetrable, no weapon could pierce that armour. 

But in many ways we are the same as the gold.  As we are refined by our goldsmith our walls begin to break down. Those very walls we put in place to protect ourselves are crumbled into rubble and swept away. We become open, reachable and vulnerable. All the impurities we added to keep ourselves safe and protected were actually preventing us from being open to God changing our hearts.

Not really sounding like alot of fun, right? Its painful sometimes. We built all those walls for a reason. The world showed us that without walls and guards we were unsafe; open to injury and attack. So we reinforced the walls. Stonger, taller, unbreachable. To keep ourselves safe. 

So when he begins to purify us, to remove all of that excess stuff and make us more like Him, it feels uncomfortable. Its scary, to think that we will be open, unprotected. But isn’t this is how we are going to grow? To begin to evolve into who we were designed to be?

Gold starts as a rock in the ground. It is barely distinguishable as what we know as gold. The  lengthy refining process reveals the most valuable. As we travel through these times of trial and hardship, let's try to remember that the process we go through changes us. We can continue to work on our walls. Building those barricades around our hearts, becoming more removed, more distant, and disconnect. Or we can choose to walk through it looking for opportunities to reflect Jesus as we journey. We can be willing to submit to His plans and designs for our lives, so that we will be changed... refined.

Choose wisely my friend.
‭
[8] Praise our God, all peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard; [9] he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. [10] For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver. [11] You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. [12] You let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.
Psalms 66:8-12
.