The Refining Process

Posted on Oct 10, 2016 Topic : Weekly Devotionals

Remove the dross from the silver, and a silversmith can produce a vessel. Proverbs 25:4

We are all in a refining process. The Bible calls this sanctification. Our most difficult days are meant to make us more like Jesus.

God does not waste pain. Rather, He uses it for our purification. “For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver” (Psalm 66:10). Enduring the refining process is not easy, but it is essential if we are to cultivate an eternal perspective. We need the fires of suffering to extract the dross hidden in our fleshly habits.

Dross is anything that is dirty and of little or no value. It is waste or impure matter, the scum that rises to the surface of molten metal. The pressure you may feel in your life is pushing impurities to the surface of your soul. This allows God’s Spirit to skim off the sin so you are free and clean in Christ. Don’t resist the righteous refining process. It is the Lord’s way to make you holy for Him. Refinement is a requisite for righteousness.

Even the wise and most capable for Christ are subject to the Almighty’s refining fires. “Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time” (Daniel 11:35). The affliction you endure will refine your leadership skills so you can lead your team to the next level. Your example of faithfulness under fire will inspire your followers.

Your refinement is an expression of the Lord’s love. He loves you too much to allow you to be held back by immature attitudes and impure motives. Because He cares, He continues to remove layers of hurt that need healing and sin that needs forgiving. Submit to His sanctifying process, and your purification will propel you forward in His perfect will.

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor (1 Thessalonians 4:3-4 nkjv).

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Am I surrendered to my Savior’s process of refinement? Do I daily confess my sin and receive His cleansing power for my soul?

Related Readings

Isaiah 48:10; Daniel 12:10; 2 Timothy 2:20-21; 1 Peter 1:7