A Refiner’s Fire Story and a Prayer for the Fires of Life
The snow outside was knee-deep when I counted the days and realized I hadn’t left the house in 28 days. I was living out my own version of the refiner’s fire story. The refining fire was burning away the dross in my life, and it hurt.
I’ll share my story from the fire shortly.
First, let’s visit the refiner’s fire story as we consider the various fires we face.
The Refiner’s Fire Story
The refiner’s fire story shares the story of a group of women who were studying the book of Malachi. They came upon Malachi 3:3, which reads, “He will be like a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the Lord in righteousness.”
One of the women wanted to learn more about this metaphor and went to visit a silversmith.
She watched him put the metal into the hottest part of the fire, where the impurities were removed from the metal so that the silver would come forth unblemished.
The silversmith explained that he had to hold the metal carefully, never taking his eyes off it.
“How do you know when it’s ready?” the woman asked.
“When I can see my image in it,” the man replied.
The Refiner’s Fire Story and Our Trials
We’ll return to this story shortly. First, I invite you to join me in the middle of my refining fire, and I’ll share the prayer God led me to pray as the flames did their work in my heart.
The illness was so severe that I’d quit writing, exercising, connecting with friends, and even grocery shopping. I resigned myself to long days spent lying flat on my back.
The walls were closing in as the darkness fell earlier and earlier. The only cheer came from the rainbow of lights strung over the pine tree in the corner of the room. As the days wore on, I wrestled with God over the timing of my illness.
Some people say we shouldn’t ask God why refining fires come into our lives.
When I couldn’t take it any longer, I finally had a long talk with God about why he permitted my illness. I was desperate to see a glimpse of God’s purpose that might help me endure.
Very few journeys are harder than walking through the refining fire with no sense of purpose for the suffering.
Very few journeys are harder than walking through the refining fire with no sense of purpose for the suffering. #suffering #refiningfire #trials #encounteringGod Share on XGod’s Purpose for the Refining Fires
I don’t know where you’re facing the fire today. But I’m guessing you know a thing or two about the flames.
Your fire might be a debilitating illness or a ruined relationship that threatens to derail your whole life. Maybe you’re facing an uncertain future, a financial emergency, or a lingering fear. Maybe you’re under a cloud of discouragement that just won’t lift.
You might be asking God why and coming up short.
Ask me how I know.
One snowy December night, alone in my bed at 7 p.m., I asked God why.
My family giggled and made memories downstairs, and I was tired of the suffering. I was tired of feeling left out and overlooked by God.
I whispered my why to the darkness, and the room remained silent. No thundering voice from above. No still small voice with the winter wind. Just silence.
A Different Question to Ask in the Fire
I rolled over to find sleep, disgusted by the silence, when a thought floated through my mind. It was a nudge to ask a different question, a deeper question. The question was not why; it was how . . .
This new question changed everything about the way I saw my struggle.
Instead of pleading with God and asking why he permitted my pain, my new question opened my spiritual eyes.
I whispered my new prayer in the darkness, “Father, how are you using this trial to answer my deepest prayers?”
And then I remembered.
I remembered the issues I’d been praying about throughout the past year.
The Refining Fire Is Often the Answer to Your Deepest Prayers
I’d been praying for God to teach me to exchange control for surrender. I was praying to stop rushing through my life. I was praying I’d learn to appreciate my children, savor small moments, and notice sunrises and robins and simple joys.
There in the darkness, I realized God was using my illness to directly answer my prayers.
I couldn’t rush or hurry. I was forced to lie still, smile at the nuances of my kids, and give thanks for simple joys like Christmas lights, the scent of pine, and woodpeckers pounding against the bird feeder outside.
God was using my refining fire to answer my prayers.
What Is God Doing in Your Refining Fire?
How often do we rush through the refining fire and miss the lessons meant to be gleaned?
Your refining fire most likely looks different than mine.
Will you pause to ask how God might be using it to answer your prayers?
This frightening diagnosis might be his tool to help you overcome fear and worry.
This disappointment might be his tool to teach you what it means to hope in him alone.
Your broken relationship might be his way of leading you to surrender control. It might be teaching you unconditional love. It might be chiseling away some hard part of your heart that’s been keeping you in chains for years.
Will you sit with God today and ask him to show you how he is using the refining fire to answer your prayers? 
The refining fire of illness eventually began to improve in my life.
I am well again.
I am also different than I was before the illness.
The refining fire has done its work.
I wouldn’t volunteer to walk through it again. Yet I am emerging just a little softer, a little deeper, a little more like the woman I’ve been praying to become.
Back to the Refiner’s Fire Story
Let’s return to the refiner’s fire story. Here, we see several principles about God’s character and his position as we endure life’s fires.
First, he never takes his eye off us.
Second, he remains near.
Third, he allows us to remain in the fire until we come forth looking more like his image.
No matter what your refiner’s fire story looks like, God has not taken his eye off you. He is near. He is using this fire to purify you, and he will pull you from the fire when the time is right. When the fire has done its work, you will emerge looking more like him.
A Free Devotional to Help You Through the Refining Fire in Your Life:
Are you ready for a fresh breath of hope to help you through a difficult season? My gift to you is my free online devotional, Rays of Light for the Dark Days. This devotional offers inspiration and practical encouragement to help you through life’s trials. It is yours by clicking here.
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