The Refiner

-author unknown-

There was a group of women in a Bible study on the book of Malachi.

As they were studying Chapter Three, they came across Verse Three which
says: “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver”. This verse puzzled
the women and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out about the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible study.
That week this woman called up a silversmith and made an appointment to
watch him at work. She didn’t mention anything about the reason for her
interest in silver beyond her curiosity about the process of refining
silver. As she watched the silver smith, 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
so 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, “He 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. For
if the silver was left even a moment too long in the flames, it would be
destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silver smith, how do you know when the silver is fully refined? He smiled at her and answered, “Oh, that’s the easy part–when I see my image reflected in it.”
If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has His
eye on you and will keep His hand on you and watch over you until He sees
His image in you.