Tested and Purged

Every day brings new challenges. Yesterday I spent the morning hanging unto the walls. I’d had breakfast, yet what appears to have been an episode with low blood sugar (I have a doctor appointment) went away as soon as I ate lunch. What was that all about?

Other tests involve relationships with people, delayed plans, losses of various kinds, the news, scarey events in the financial sector, heavy decisions, you name it. Even the simplest things, like grocery shopping and calls from telemarketers can be tests.

The tests are to see if I will live under the influence of the Holy Spirit and behave like Jesus, or if I will ignore and neglect Him and do my own thing. These tests started the day Jesus came into my life and will continue as long as I breathe. Psalm 66:10-12 says:

For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined. You brought us into the net; You laid affliction on our backs. You have caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; but You brought us out to rich fulfillment.

Silver is refined in a big container placed over high heat. As the heat rises, the crud in the silver also rises to the surface where it is skimmed off the top by the silversmith. “If we confess our sins (as they appear), He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

The silversmith continues the process until there is no more dross. How does he know it is all gone and the silver is pure? He knows when he can see his reflection in the surface of the silver!

God’s refining process happens through the heat of tests and by His power to make my life clean. My part in this is to confess the crud when it rises to the surface (and it does), and then let Him remove it from my life. Sounds easy, but sin has permeated every part of me. Just when I think something is the way it should be, another test reveals more junk that needs to be purged.

I’m amazed at the power of God to deal with the dross in my life. While I do need to make the right choices, I don’t have to fight against my old nature; all I have to do is agree with God about my sinfulness. The dross is there; I see it, please remove it.

When I confess, He gets to work. I’m suddenly aware that I don’t want to act like I once did and that I have the power to make different choices and decisions. I can do things His way instead of mine. The tests are vital. Instead of trying to escape the heat, I need to stay there because every test will show me where I need help. However, the key to getting it is not by trying harder. The only way to be rid of sin is by taking it to my Savior and letting Him skim off the dross.