I have a common saying in our house which is, "I do not like pain. Pain hurts." Yet, God, in His wisdom, knows that it is through the pain that will draw our attention and focus onto Him, if we allow Him to mold and shape us into His perfect will. The best part about it though, is the fact that He will never leave us as we go through our struggles, and His eyes are always watching over us. Many years ago I read something that touched me so deeply that I printed it out, and taped it onto the last page of the Old Testament in one of my Bibles. I am going to share what the paper said with you today, and pray you may be blessed by it. I am not the author of the words below, but I do not know who penned the writing. May you be blessed as I was, and still, am! " There was a group of women in a Bible study on the book of Malachi. As they were studying chaper three, they came across verse three, which says, "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." This verse puzzled the women and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out about the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible study. That week this woman called up a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She did not mention anything about the reason for her interest in silver beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver over the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot - then she thought again about the verse, 'that He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver'. She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered, "Yes," he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver were left even a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy. When I see my image reflected in it." If today you are feeling the heat of this world's fire, just remember that God has His eyes on you."
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