just what I needed

I got up this morning and was really feeling "down". Things just were getting to me this morning and then... a friend Inboxed me on facebook with this...

The Silver Smith

A Group of women were studying the book of Malachi. As they were studying chapter 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 the woman called up a silver smith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest in silver beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silver smith, 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 he sits as a refiner and purifier of silver. She asked the silver smith 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 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 silver smith, "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."



After reading the last sentence "Oh, that's easy - when I see my image in it" the thought really sunk in and hit me! The reality is, in hard times, God never leaves. He is our papa! He has a perfect plan and that perfect plan is SEEING HIMSELF IN US! He's making us like him every day and no matter how hot the fire feels... He is right there feeling the heat with us, holding us and never taking his eyes off excitedly waiting for the perfect refinement when He sees His very image in us! Thanks papa for loving me enough to love me and never look away!