Want what you have and you will always have what you want
Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier
of silver."
This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they
wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of
the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the
group at their next Bible Study.
That week, the woman called a
silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention
anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the
process of refining silver. As she
watched the silversmith, he held a piece
of silver over the fire and let it heat up.
He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold
the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn
away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot
spot then she thought again about the verse that says: "H e sits as a
refiner and purifier of silver."
She asked the silversmith if it was true
that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was
being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there
holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it
was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it
would be destroyed.
The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the
silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at
her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it."
If
today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has His eye on you
and will keep watching you until He sees His image in
you.