Daily Devotional

-March 2, 2021-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

-God’s Refining Process In Our Lives-

“But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot has held to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside.”

(Job 23:10-11).

Job, more than anyone in the Bible, experienced the greatest trials; and they all came upon him at once. He was a godly man, a contemporary of Abraham. God had blessed him so much and he was very wealthy and respected. Job 1:1 says, “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.”

His family, his business, and all his possessions are mentioned in Job 1:2-3, “And seven sons and three daughters were born to him. Also, his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred toke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East.” The security company Bay Alarm, has the slogan, “What do you have to lose?” He had a lot and he lost it all.

Satan was behind all the troubles that he went through. God allowed him to be tested to grow his faith and refine his character. On one day, his sons and daughters died, as did his servants and animals. God used the great trials to refine him, humble him, and increase his faith.

He makes the statement, “But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me I shall come forth as gold.” Gold and silver are precious metals that are not destroyed by fire but refined by fire. Dross is “the scum or unwanted material that forms on the surface of molten metal.” Fire burns away the dross and refines the metal.

There is much “scum” that God wants to remove from our lives so that we can please and serve Him more. He works on our character, which is a painful process for us, but has eternal value. Malachi 3:3 says of God and His people, “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver; that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness.”

Job kept his integrity throughout his trials and did not blame God. James wrote, “Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord — that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful” (James 4:11). God restored what Job had lost and blessed him with even more. His end was better than his beginning. Job learned valuable lessons on the power and wisdom of God and his own frailty and weakness.

May the Lord continue his refining process in our lives to bring us forth as gold refined in the fire of His affliction. The anonymous hymn writer wrote, “When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply; The flame shall not hurt thee, I only design thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.”

Have a blessed day learning, trusting, and growing in Christ. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean