Refiner’s Fire
We have all heard the term “refiner’s fire,” but up until recently, I never knew exactly what that entailed. One day, I decided to research what the precious metal refining process really involves.
The first stage is referred to as the “breaking,” and as one might think, it involves breaking the rough ore into smaller pieces with the intention of bringing forth the more precious materials hidden within. The second stage
is known as the “crucible,” in which the broken ore is placed into a fireproof melting pot so that the metal can be exposed to extreme heat. The final stages involve exposing the crucible-encased ore to increasingly high temperatures, each specific level intended to draw out another impurity. At the completion of each melting process, the refiner carefully scrapes off the sediment and undesirable metal that rises to the top.
I cannot think of a more perfect analogy for how God cares for His beloved children.
In 2014, my family began the hardest, most spiritually filled year thus far. It started when we saw no heartbeat on the screen. What was the hope of a third child quickly slipped away. The mourning that we did for that baby was raw and deep. It was not our first loss, but it still felt so heavy and real. I began digging through Scripture to try and find a reason for this suffering.
I came across the story of Jacob and his brother Esau later that summer when I was in the emergency room experiencing the loss of yet another baby we had hoped and prayed for. Esau had once wanted to kill his brother, and Jacob was struggling over the reunion that would take place the next day. He struggled so much with his emotions and ended up having a physical struggle with God that night. God broke Jacob at the strongest part of the human body, the sinew of the thigh.
It became apparent to me that God was breaking me in perhaps the most painful way, because sometimes that’s what it takes. Sometimes that’s what is required for us to see God face-to-face. Ann Voskamp put it so eloquently in her book One Thousand Gifts when she wrote that “blessings don’t come without first begging to see the wells of joy-water in the desert; wells don’t come without first splitting open hard earth, cracking back the lids. There’s no seeing God face-to-face without first the ripping. Tear the thigh to open the eye.”
Preparing to say goodbye to your child before you have laid eyes on his sweet face seems like a trial no parent should have to face. But, through this trial, I have seen beauty. God has been using this ugly circumstance to bring out impurities in my marriage, attitude, and faith and draw me closer to Him.
We, as followers of Christ, are promised affliction at some point in our lives. 1 Peter 4:12 says that you shouldn’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. So how do we pass through life’s daily irritations and devastating events? We are to keep our focus on the promises God has written in His Word and trust fully in the Author and Perfecter of our faith, Jesus Christ.
Consider for a moment what Christ chose to do for you and me. Instead of choosing to stay in His rightful place in the presence of the Father in heaven, He chose the cross and its shame. Jesus chose to endure all the suffering of this world so that we may join Him in heaven for eternity.
For us, the suffering we endure isn’t typically a choice. But we can choose to keep our eyes focused on Christ and run with perseverance the race marked out for us. James 1:2-4 goes so far to say that we should consider trials an opportunity for great joy. For we know that when our faith is tested, our endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, dear momma. For when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
You may feel like God is breaking you or exposing you to heat that you can’t endure, but choose to walk through these trials in faith, and allow the Master Refiner to do His work in you. Fix your eyes on Jesus and embrace the resurrection power that will come as a result.
This post originally appeared on the blog on September 14, 2015.
- Megan
Hope Mom to Thatcher and four precious babies
Megan Kelley is married to Jake and the mother to seven babies. Her first child she lost to miscarriage in September of 2009. She then had two children, Hunter (7) and Preston (5). After Preston, she lost her next two to miscarriage in March and August of 2014. A month later, she found out she was pregnant with her son, Thatcher, who was diagnosed with Edwards Syndrome. He went to his heavenly home shortly after he was born on April 17, 2015. She was blessed with her latest addition, Abigail Quinn in July of 2017. She loves painting, gardening, cooking, reading, and playing with her kids at the park.
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