Daily Word

More of God’s wondrous and incomprehensible ways of acting:

“The pressure cooker” and the “vice”: The pressure cooker represents the sudden, the unexpected—a heated situation or a difficult event. The vice represents the drawn-out ordeal; you are firmly stuck and unable to move forward.

You experience immense pressure—perhaps in financial matters or due to illness. At work, you feel pressured and stressed by your boss or colleagues. You are unfairly accused and constantly find yourself caught in the middle.

Perhaps conflicts arise in your relationships. It is worst of all when it involves your spouse or your children. You do not know what to do or where to turn.

Paul writes about his own experiences: ”We do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.” (1/.)

Why does God let us go through all of this?

It forces “the rubbish” within us to the surface (like frogs jumping out!): despondency, anger, irritation, arrogance, self-reliance, and complaining.

If given permission, God can then cleanse and set us free.

The “furnace” consists of trials, temptations, catastrophes, or misfortunes that come to test the authenticity of our faith, and to scrutinize and examine our character.

The purpose is to strip away what is false and inauthentic, so that what is genuine and pure may emerge.

It is much like a goldsmith who repeatedly places gold into a furnace to purify it, until, in the end, he can see his own reflection in it.

The trials of Job serve as an illuminating example. Did he serve God because of the benefits and blessings he received? Was he just as devoted in his faith when everything had been taken away from him?

In Job’s case, the “dross” consisted of impatience and self-righteousness—along with pride in his own wisdom and knowledge.

After finally receiving a revelation of God’s sovereignty and greatness, he exclaims: ”I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (2/.)

A humble and broken Job was restored by God and blessed with twice as much as he had possessed before.

In the same way, God can entrust us with His most precious spiritual treasures, once He has cleansed us of our ‘dross’!

(1/. 2 Cor.1:8-9); (2/. Job 42:1-10)