“You have tested us, O God; you have purified us like silver.” (Psalm 66:10, NLT).
“The Refining Process of Silver: Heating in a Crucible: Impure silver is placed in a heat-resistant container called a crucible along with a flux, such as borax.”
“The Refiner’s Watch: The artisan must closely monitor the fire and keep watch over the molten silver the entire time, removing it right when the surface becomes completely clear and reflective.”
“Characters that have not endured fiery trials are not spiritually reliable.”
Jesus accepts us just like we are, but we cannot stay that way. Sanctification is a lifetime process that requires us to renounce sin; live a sacrificial life of self-denial, and make the daily commitment to use our faith to obey and follow Jesus on the Narrow Path of Righteousness.
Today, I reflected deeply on how easy it is for us, even as Christians, to say that we love God, but every day, we disobey our Heavenly Father.
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11).
In John 14:1-3, Jesus tells us that He has future plans for us; and how many of us wake up everyday with an agenda already in our minds, without ever inviting the Holy Spirit to guide us?
God is extremely Loving; He gave His Only Son, Jesus to save us from the penalty of sin. Too many of us are guilty of pursuing our desires instead of pursuing Jesus.
Because God loves us, He will allow trials to come into our lives; God’s desire is that we will respond with surrender and obedience.
Romans 8:18 states: “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”
“Current Pain: The Apostle Paul acknowledges that life involves real hardship, pain, and trials.
Future Hope: He teaches that the future joy and glory given by God are much greater than any current struggle.
Perspective: This verse helps people look past today’s hard times and trust in a better future.”
God has done all that is possible to empower us in our spiritual journey. “You shall have no other gods before me” is His command.
We cannot serve God with a divided heart; there is no middle ground, either we are all in through surrender and obedience, or we are completely out as demonstrated by following our thoughts, plans, and strategies.
God’s Attempt To Redirect Us Back To Jesus Christ
“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. (1 Peter 4:12, NIV).
Being in the spiritual fire doesn’t feel good, but the Apostle Peter tells us that every believer who has accepted Christ as their Savior will suffer.
“I will never leave you or forsake you.” Jesus promised to empower us with His strength to keep moving forward. Our responsibility is to live a life of worship; praying, studying the Bible, meditating on God’s Promises, and obeying His directives and plans for our lives.
“And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.” (John 8:29).
Desire Heaven? The character traits that we must possess and develop are steadfast faith, love, loyalty, and the willingness to surrender and obey God.
Reflection: Evaluate your heart, if the grievous weed of pride is present, it is demonstrated by a spirit and lifestyle of self-reliance.
A prideful heart resulted in the highest archangel Lucifer losing all of his senses; in Isaiah Chapter 14, Lucifer challenged God’s Sovereign Authority:
“For you have said in your heart: I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God…I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High. (Isaiah 14:13-14).
Pride sits on the throne of the human heart, making us unresponsive to Jesus’ Love. The invasive root of pride controls the human mind, and like unbelievers, we will never bow to God’s Sovereign Authority.
Every day, pray for the Holy Spirit to give you stronger faith. It is humility that invites the Holy Spirit to redirect our focus, giving us the insight to perceive life through spiritual eyes, which strengthens our faith.
“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:3-5, ESV).
And praying for God to reveal His perfect will, is the only way we can be sanctified by the Holy Spirit and covered with the Righteousness of Christ.
We must be tried by temptations in order to learn to depend totally on Christ. Develop the habits of praying for spiritual wisdom and walking through life on bended knees.
From day to day, we have no idea the vicissitudes of life that will come rushing in like an earthquake.
If we stay connected to Christ in the peaceful times, our faith will push us to pray, and we will anchor ourselves to Jesus, our Rock and Stronghold in times of trouble.
Even spiritually mature believers, who use their faith to always trust and obey Christ must endure the tests, trials, hardships, and adversities designed to remove the impurities in our hearts and minds.
We can only be successful in resisting our hearts desires and Satan’s temptations from continuously seeking and praying for God’s Divine Help and the Oil of Grace [The Holy Spirit] to be poured on us.
Our Daily Prayer: Lord, I surrender to You and I want You to be the King on the throne of my heart, and I ask You to, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10). In Jesus’ Righteous Name, Amen.
“Consequently, He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” (Hebrews 7:25).
Only the blood of Jesus can completely cleanse us from all unrighteousness, and through the Holy Spirit, He gives us the supernatural strength to persevere in this tough spiritual journey of life.
“Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.” (Romans 8:34, NLT).
We have King Jesus functioning as our Heavenly High Priest and Intercessor receiving every prayer. All of Heaven including the messenger angels are dedicated to preparing us for living a Forever Righteous Life with the Holy Triune God.
When having personal worship, ask Jesus to pray for you, and He will empower you with the peace, wisdom, and strength to endure and persevere through hardships that words are inadequate to describe.
Jesus told Peter that He was praying for him because Satan was trying to sift him like wheat, hoping that Peter would walk away from Jesus like Judas did.
We know that Peter denied Christ three times, yet he repented, and Jesus fully restored him. During the day of Pentecost, it was the apostle Peter, who the Holy Spirit anointed to preach to the multitude, and over 3,000 people accepted Jesus as their Savior and were baptized.
Following Jesus requires a life filled with challenges, yet Jesus never crushes us. It would be pointless for our trials to produce a State of Mind overflowing with hopelessness and despair; still, we must remain steadfast and follow Jesus with faithful obedience, conviction, and courage.
Like silver that is purified in the fire, we will receive the strength to endure the sufferings that are designed to get rid of the impure thoughts, habits, and carnal behaviors that we inherited.
Jesus tells us it is impossible for us to change ourselves. Through self-denial, we invite the Holy Spirit to empower us to let go of the world’s declining morals, values, and the relationships with sinful people, and their “filthy” practices.
Instead of feeling sad, helpless, or that God is punishing you, “Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you a partner with Christ in His suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing His glory when it is revealed to all the world.”
“Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8).
Lord God, for Your abundant Love, Grace, and countless Mercies, we bow to Your Sovereign Authority. We thank You for the Cross. We owe You our lives for fulfilling the Plan of Redemption. Jesus, we thank You for paying the price of Your life to save our souls. Thank You for allowing us to suffer the fiery trials and hardships designed to change us. Lord, we know that we will appreciate Your correction on the day when You come again to receive the faithful and obedient righteous to take us to our Forever Home in the New Heaven and New Earth. Thank You Jesus, we love You, and ask this prayer in faith, and in Your Loving and Righteous Name, Amen.
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