Refinement

Zechariah 13:9:  "I will refine them like silver and test them like gold.  They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, 'They are my people,' and they will say, 'The LORD is our God.'"

God is in the refining business, and He is apt to test us with regularity to see if we will depend upon Him and His Word (Deut. 8:2-3).  Much like the Israelites who had just celebrated their deliverance from the bondage of Egypt in Exodus 15, only to find themselves being led by the LORD into a dry and desolate desert, so too God will introduce challenges in our lives to get us to seek Him for His guidance, His power, His provision, and His protection.  And from these experiences, we are drawn into a closer fellowship with Him.

God too uses the hardships of life to draw us closer to Him in a spirit of heartfelt contrition for sin.  When we are sinning, God will introduce situations in our lives that will cause us to stop in our tracks, see the futility of our ways, and seek Him with repentant hearts.  It is then that God has us right where He desires us to be . . . and He refines us much like precious metals go through refinement so that they can come forth with more purity and preciousness.

This is a good word for us.  Remember that God will not leave you in a static state.  His love for you will provoke you to respond to Him, and His desire is for you to grow closer to Him.  See the challenges in your life as a beckoning of God for you to reorient yourself towards Him in a heightened sense of dependency and delight in His provision and presence.  Then you will understand the plans of the Lord for you, and you will take great delight in His refinement of you.