The Refiner's Fire

Scripture:

Zechariah 13:9 "I will bring that group through the fire and make them pure. I will refine them like silver and purify them like gold. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'These are my people,' and they will say, 'The Lord is our God'".

Observation:

This is a direct prophecy about the return of the Lord to establish His kingdom, which is still a future event, but it also shows us how the Lord works with people now. God is, and always has been, looking for a people who are pure and holy as He is pure and holy. The way of purity is not easy though. God said here that He would bring them through the fire to make them pure, then they will call on His name. Sometimes the only way God can get our attention is for Him to allow us to go through the fire.

Application:

When things don't go right in our lives, we should not look at it like God doesn't like us. Rather, we should see each of these events as refining and purifying our hearts, lives, and motives. When bad stuff happens and we end up in the fire, we have a choice to become bitter or to get better. When we walk through troublesome times with a good attitude and a sweet spirit, God is pleased and we become more like Him. Let's not see every bad thing that happens to us as being God hating us. Let's see it as God refining us so that we can be more like Him.

Prayer:

Lord, I want to see things as You see them. I want to see the trials of life as a proving ground and a refiner's fire that are there to bring about my purity and to bring me closer to You. You are amazing and whatever it takes for me to become more like You, bring it! Work in me and work on me. I am Yours.

Sincerely,
Jeff