Refined in the fire

Refined in the fire

Bible:1 Peter 1:6-9

These trials will show that your faith is genuine (V.7 NLT).

Reading

Twenty-four karat gold is 100% gold with no impurities. But that percentage is difficult to get to. Refiners most commonly use one of two methods for the purification of gold. The Miller method is the quickest and least expensive, but the resulting gold is only about 99.95% pure. The Wohlwill process takes a little more time and costs more, but the gold is 99.99% pure at the end.
In Bible times, refiners just used fire to purify gold. The heat made impurities rise to the surface, so the impurity was easier to get rid of. In his first letter to Christians throughout Asia Minor, the apostle Peter used the gold refining process as a picture for the way trials work in our lives. When he wrote his letter, many Christians were being attacked by the Romans for their trust in
Jesus. Peter knew what that was like too. But persecution, Peter explained, brings out the “genuineness of [our] faith” (1 PETER 1:7). Perhaps you feel like you’re in a fire right now—feeling the heat of school pressure, illness or other problems. But these things are often the way God
purifies the ‘gold’ of our faith. Difficult situations cause the impurities in us to rise to the surface; we find ourselves doing and saying things that are not godly. When we admit those impurities to God, He cleanses them away. What’s left is a little bit more pure. He knows what’s best for us, even when life hurts. Keep connected to Jesus and we will see Him transform our lives, especially in the hard times.

GOD USES TRIALS TO MAKE OUR TRUST IN HIM
STRONGER

YouTh Edition – Our Daily Bread Ministries