That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
1st Peter 1:7 KJV
Have you ever worked with ceramics? The clay is cast onto the potter’s wheel or cast into a mold. When it’s finished on the wheel or the mold is removed, it has a shape, but it’s not very sturdy. It can be broken very easily, just by brushing against it. A fingernail can scratch it irreparably. When you try to add color to it by covering it with glaze, it’s still pretty colorless. It looks nothing like the finished products we see in stores. But boy, when you put it in the kiln and fire it up… wow!!! The dull, weak vessel becomes a thing of beauty with colors blazing and the strength to actually be a vessel.
This past year may have been tough for you. What part of it will you focus on? The bad? The tough times? Or what God has done for you in those times? The beauty for ashes that He promises in His Word. The strength of your soul. The faith forged in the fire of the trial?
Think about this. If everything was climate-controlled – a perfect 72 degrees, no humidity – steel would be about as useful as Styrofoam. It’s in the fire that steel is forged and tempered and becomes strong – fit for its purpose – and able to do what it is designed to do. The pottery becomes beautiful in the fire. Plain, common coal is transformed into a diamond by unbelievable pressure and heat.
Our God is a consuming fire. Can you take the heat?
Prayer:
Father,
Your fire is holy, burning away what is not righteous. Purge us, Father, with Your fire. Make us vessels of worth to You. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen
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