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"
ZECHARIAH 13:9
An Acquaintance of mine tells of taking a group of Intervarsity Christian Fellowship students to africa where they visited one of the world's highest-producing gold mines. Deep in the cavernous heart of the earth, miners would dig the dirt and mud would be processed, then refined, then the ore placed in a vast, fiery furnace.
At the end of the tour, the guide took them into a room where sitting on a table was a gold bar. He then said, "If you can pick this up with one hand, it's yours to keep," In the group was football player who was immediately elected to take the challenge. People had gone to prison for taking gold, and all he had to do was pick it up, and he would become an instantly rich man
He gripped the bar of gold with all his might. His muscles tensed, the veins in his arms bulging from the exertion, but try as he might, he couldn't move it.
In the scripture text for today's selection, God tells the prophet that He will refine His people and test them like gold. The refining process, often disguised as difficulty, is never pleasant but afterwards produced a faith that can withstand the tests of time. The end result is a relationship that clearly defines God's loves for His people and the reciprocal trust that allows those who go through the fire to praise and worship Him.
In all probability the prophet Zechariah remembered God's promise recorded by Isaiah,"The fire will not burn you." A loving father controls the whole process and He will take you through your trial.
No comments:
Post a Comment