Romans 8:31 “What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?” This episode is about how the Lord transforms us. It also talks about how the enemy attacks us when we are doing well growing closer to God. Music:"Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The Refiner’s Fire
Romans 8:31 “What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?”
This verse is interesting to me because when I first read it was I was all fired about how if God is for us, then no one can really be against us. However, when I sat for a few minutes and just thought about what I was going to write about the thought came into my mind that if God is for us, it seems like there are more people against us. My friend said today that it seems like the more you pray the more problems that come up in your life. However, she said this is a good thing because those things need to come to the surface so that you can deal with them. I think this is a great point that I had never really thought of before. I guess not in this context. The closer we are willing to get to God, the more He transforms us into His likeness and image. He created us that way and then original sin happened and now we struggle to resemble the Lord. However, the more we open our hearts and minds to Him, the more He can transform us.
How does God transform us? What keeps coming back to my mind over and over again this week is purification through fire. Maybe it is because I was talking about going through hard times yesterday and how those hard times change us and prepare us to live into the person that God created us to be. I just feel like I am supposed to tell you about a story I heard once about a refiner’s fire. You may have heard this before as I was able to find it pretty easily on an internet search, so I think it is well known. It is called The Refiners Fire. I am not sure who wrote it. I heard it at a meeting once and I have never been able to forget it. I will read it to you now.
“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 in 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 says: ‘He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.’ (Malachi 3:3) 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 that 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 was left 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 in it.’”
Isn’t this an amazing image? I can just picture our heavenly Father holding us in His hand through the hot spots of our life. Keeping His eye on us, never looking away, ready to take us out at the perfect moment. My very favorite part is when she asked the silversmith how he knew when the silver was fully refined and he answered, “when I see my image in it.” That is when God will know that we are fully refined, when He looks at us and sees His reflection. I am not sure why this story touches my heart so much. To me it paints a picture of a loving and attentive Father. One that is always paying attention and never sleeping on the job. If you have ever been around children you know how hard it is to keep your eyes on them at all times. Now imagine you have over 7 billion children. God is remarkable!
The silversmith said that if the silver was left a moment too long, it would be destroyed. Sometimes we feel like we have been left in the fire too long. We feel like we can’t go on for one more second. I like this analogy because it shows us God knows what He is doing. He did not just put us in the middle of a fire, walk away for a lunch break, come back and then take us out again. He has his eyes on us the whole time, just waiting for the perfect moment. He didn’t take us out too early and He didn’t leave us in too long. If you feel like you are ready to give up, like God has forgotten about you, rest assured that He hasn’t. He is there with you, holding you, watching you, and ready to take you out as soon as He can see His reflection in you.
A second reason why we seem to have more problems when we grow closer to God is because the enemy starts to get nervous. Satan is not worried about those with luke warm faith. In Revelations 3:15-16 it says, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So because you were lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth. The Lord is not interested in those with lukewarm faith, therefore, satan doesn’t have to worry. He is already sure he will get their souls. He is not concerned with those that have turned away from the Lord. Satan is most concerned with those that are trying to grow closer to the Lord. Their is a battle for your soul and Satan is not about to give up without a fight. I remember when the boys were little I would get so frustrated because on the days when I would have home rosary group and Bible study, my morning would be awful. Everything that could go wrong, would go wrong. I remember asking God why this was happening. I would tell Him I was trying to do the right thing, shouldn’t it be easier? Shouldn’t You be helping me out?
I mentioned it to the home rosary group one day and one of the ladies said it is not God that is messing up your mornings, it is the enemy. Who would benefit from you being so frustrated that you stop going to the meetings?
I can see how Satan would want to make our lives harder so that we give up and stop trying. Can you look back at your life and think of a time when you felt as if you were doing something really good, something where you felt you were growing closer to the Lord, and yet you stopped because it just became too difficult? I definitely have done this over the years. I have seen others do it as well. Especially when they were really getting a lot out of it. For instance, I find Eucharistic Adoration really powerful. For me, it is great to set aside that time each week to sit and be in the presence of the Lord. However, things keep coming up during that time and so I have to cancel or find someone else to take my spot, and my mind keeps telling me to just give up my spot. This is the enemy and I know it. I know he wants me to give up my adoration spot because if I do not have a commitment to go each week, then I won’t go. I will want to, but I will allow other things to get in the way and I won’t end up going.
None of us want to go through trials. None of us want to be tested through fire. Yet we all want to grow closer to the Lord. As we grow closer we may realize that things seem to be getting more difficult. We may be encountering a lot of issues that make us want to give up and stop trying. If this is the case I ask you to remember this verse. “If God is for us, who could be against us?” Who is stronger than God? We are on the winning team. Don’t give up when things get hard. Keep fighting for the things that you know are helping your grow closer to the Lord. We must guard and protect the time that we spend with the Lord. The enemy will keep putting obstacles in the way to distract you from your goal and your purpose. He doesn’t want you to grow closer to the Lord. Keep jumping over the obstacles. Keep getting back up when you get knocked down. Keep showing up, even when it’s hard. If the enemy is attacking you that means you are a threat to him. It means he is worried you are getting too close to God. This is a good thing. This means you are doing something right. Keep doing what your doing. God has His eye fixed on you and He will pull you out of the fire at there perfect moment.
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord we are so thankful that you keep your eyes fixed on us. We thank you for refining us, even if it hurts. We thank you for wanting to grow closer to us and helping us grow closer to you. Lord, we thank you for protecting us from those that wish to harm us. We thank you for pulling us out of the fire. Lord we ask that you give us the strength and perseverance to not give up when the enemy tries to derail us from those things that bring us closer to you. We ask that if we have already allowed the enemy to derail us that you give us the courage to start back up again. Lord, we don’t want to be luke warm. We want to be on fire for your love Lord. We want to be like that perfect piece of silver. We want you to look at us and see your reflection. Help us oh Lord. We are so grateful for how well you look out for us. We love you and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen.
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to spending time with you on Monday. Have a blessed day!