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Key Bible Verse: He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver (Malachi 3:3). Bonus Reading: Isaiah 52:13-15; 53:10-12

I heard a silversmith talk about refining silver. He said, "I must sit with my eyes steadily fixed on the furnace; for if the time necessary for refining be exceeded in the slightest degree, the silver will be injured. I never take my eye off of the silver in the furnace. It I take it out too early, it won't be purified. If I leave it in too late, it will be injured. When the silver is in the fire, I focus. I don't let anything distract me. I watch that silver, carefully waiting for the right moment to take it out."

"When is the right moment?" I asked

He said, "I know the silver is pure when I can see my face reflected there."

When I'm in a storm, as soon as the storm comes, I'm saying, "Okay, God, bail me out. Find me. Rescue me!" Sometimes He doesn't rescue me. He doesn't come. But He is the great silversmith. While I'm in the furnace, He focuses and watches. His job isn't a quick rescue mission. His job is to purify. He holds me until the right moment, and then He comes—never too early, never too late—right on time.

—John Maxwell, founder, the INJOY Group

• Do you trust that your God is good? Talk honestly with Him about your difficulties and ask Him to help you know Him more.

Thought to Apply: Pain is a holy angel who shows us treasures that would otherwise remain forever hidden.

—DIETRICH BONHOEFFER (GERMAN PASTOR HANGED BY HITLER)

Credits: Adapted from—Friday: Preaching and Teaching

Copyright © 2000 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity. For reprint information click here.

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