If this word for today wasn’t speaking right to me!
In the Melting Pot
He will sit as a refiner… of silver.
Malachi 3:3 NKJV
Rick Warren says: “God has a purpose behind every problem. He uses circumstances to develop our character. In fact, He often depends more on circumstances to make us like Jesus than He does on our reading the Bible. And the reason is obvious: we face circumstances 24-hours-a-day.”
We learn things about God when we’re in trouble that we can’t learn any other way. Adversity draws us closer to Him! “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted” (Psalm 34:18 NLT). Problems force us to look to God and depend on Him instead of ourselves. Paul writes, “We… saw how powerless we were to help ourselves; but that was good, for then we put everything into the hands of God” (2 Corinthians 1:9 TLB). Submitting the situation to God and trusting Him with the ways, means, and timing, is hard for most of us to do. Why? Because it means giving up control!
If you feel like you’re in the melting pot today, maybe God put you there. Have you thought of that? The refiner is burning away the impurities and removing the obstacles in your life: “He will sit as a refiner… of silver; He will purify… them like gold… Then the Lord will have men who will… be acceptable.” Since God’s plan is to make us more like Jesus, He’ll take us through the experiences Jesus went through. What are they? The wilderness of temptation; rejection by your family; the strain of caring for others; criticism from religious people; and betrayal by those you love and have invested your life in. So, are you in the melting pot?
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I know I promised the second half of my MS trip…and if I can remember, lol, I’ll post it! I need some Gingkoboloba!
Serenity
