Isaiah 48:10 Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.
Times are tough, there is little doubt about that. People are hurting, and they are feeling alone. I hear, now more than ever, the one question that resonates. Why? Why me, why now, why does it have to be hard, why can’t it just come easy? When I hear that question, I often think of this verse. I talked to a fella that works with various metals, and I asked him just what it means to “purify” silver. He told me that if you purify it, you have taken all of the slag out. The junk, the stuff that is just filler, and fluff, but not silver. When you get all of that out, then you have purified the silver. I asked him just how he goes about doing that. He told me that you put the silver in a smelter, and crank up the heat, as the silver gets hotter, it pushes out the impurities, and they rise to the top. He then takes a tool and pulls the slag off the top. He continues to add heat and pull off the slag. I asked him how he knew when he got all of the slag out. was there a temperature that must be reached, was it a specific time that it had to be done for, just how do you know. His answer pretty much sums up what the Lord is telling us here. The man looked at me and said “I know when I am down to pure silver because when I look into the smelter, I see my reflection”. Wow, with enough heat, and enough time spent pulling the junk out he can see his reflection.
That my friends is what the Lord is doing. Now as it is pointed out we are not put through the same fire as silver. Humans don’t keep well when exposed to high heat. However we have a different furnace. It is the furnace of affliction. Yeah, I know…..no one likes to hear about the furnace of affliction. I do not particularly like it myself. It is hot, it is uncomfortable, and typically I end up losing some stuff that I was fairly sure I needed. However, in the end, when the Lord gets all of our slag out, guess what? He can see Himself. Now that is worth the work; and knowing that God is working to get all of the junk out of us, should also remind us that we are not alone. The Lord is standing over that furnace, pulling out the slag as it comes to the top. Have you ever stood over a furnace, or smelter? Have you ever splashed a little slag onto you while pulling it off the top? It is not easy work. It takes time, it takes sacrifice, and it takes having to put up with a little pain. Yet there the Lord is, diligently working to get the slag out.
I often think how frustrated God must be with me sometimes. I can just see Him, standing over the furnace of my life, sifting out the slag….almost done, getting clear, starting to shimmer….then bam! Another round of slag pushes up to the top. I can almost hear Him exclaim “good night! How much junk does this guy have to burn out?” Really? More? Yet He does not tire. He does not throw up His arms, and say just forget it, let’s pour this one out, and get a new one. No, He does not. He patiently stands over the furnace, waiting for the next round. Knowing that as long as I am willing to put in the work, sooner or later, that last bit of slag will float up to the top, and he will pull it off to reveal His reflection. He will look at me, and see Himself, He will look at my heart, and see the heart of His Son. At that moment, both the Lord, and I will know that every hardship, every bit of pain, grief, turmoil, disappointment, and every set back, was needed to bring me to this moment.
Take heart, and stand fast, this current season of pain, will give way to a season of joy. The pain will turn to happiness, and the disappointment, will turn to elation. You are simply in the process of pushing out some slag, and make no mistake about it….the Lord is right there ready to snatch it up, looking to see how much of Himself he can see in the reflection.
God Bless,
Brian Thetford
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