This message has been on my heart for this past week now. As I was reading last week, I came across 1 Peter chapter 1. When going through the chapter, the Lord laid many things upon my heart, including the process of refinement.
1 Peter 1:6-7 says, "So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a while. (7) These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold- though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world."
What originally stood out to me is the fact it says we should be "truly glad." Truly glad though we experience pain. Truly glad through the midst of hardship.
What is the posture of our hearts? What is the posture of our hearts when we are in the midst of a storm? Or when we are in the middle of a valley? Are we asking God why me? Are we praying for a way out or for it to just end? Or are we truly glad because of the hope we have in Christ? Are we shouting with joy because we are expectant of what is to come just around the bend?
This truly checked my heart in a number of ways, and I hear Him say, "O you of little faith, why are you so afraid?" I hear Him ask, "Do you not trust me?"
If we truly trusted the Lord we would stand firm in knowing that He is above the storm and through Him we are able to rise above the storm. We must learn to embrace the storm, learn how to endure the storm instead of cowering away.
It is through the storms and trials of life that we are refined. It is in those moments our faith is tested and purified. Are we going to excel through the storm on wings like eagles or are we going to prolong the process and remain in the wilderness for 40 years instead of 40 nights?
How would we ever learn to trust the Lord if there were never any hardships? If life was fine and dandy all the time, how would there ever be an opportunity to truly experience and see the Lord for all He is? For it is in our weakness, that His strength is made perfect. It is in our faults that we are able to see His grace, His love, and Him filling our gaps. We must learn to rely on Him and to trust Him as He is faithful to every promise.
Good news for us, as the verse continues, it says that there is "wonderful joy ahead." That is a promise we can stand on because we can take heart in knowing that through the trials, we are then refined and made more like Christ.
I am reminded of two materials in the refinement process- gold and glass. Gold, when put under fire, is melted; it is moldable and easy to work with. When put under fire, the impurities in the metal float to the top, and the pure gold sinks to the bottom, separating the two. The process can be completed in as little as one day.
Now with glass, it is a bit different, at least in the way I am referring to. Glass is a hard object, it is not flexible or easily moldable once solidified. Oftentimes, when going to the beach, people can find sea glass. What is sea glass? Sea glass are beautiful pieces of glass that can be found washed ashore on beaches. Sea glass comes from shards of glass of broken bottles; it was once garbage that was either abandoned on shore or forgotten about, nevertheless making its way into the ocean. Over time, as it is in the ocean being rolled over by waves and constantly rubbed against sand, the edges are smoothed, and its coat is frosted over. The process of making genuine sea glass takes anywhere from a decade to hundreds of years to complete.
What was once a piece of garbage is now turned into a beautiful piece that is sought after by many collectors. It can be treasured and even turned into jewelry, its purpose being made new. Much like us, how Jesus turns beauty from ashes. When we think all is hopeless, God rewrites our story.
Now I ask you, when facing a storm are you going to choose to be gold or glass? Will you be like gold, which is easily moldable by choosing to embrace the trial, or will you be like sea glass- not as willing or flexible, and prolonging the time in the wilderness by running from the storm?
Either way, we are refined through the process, but the time it takes to complete is drastically different.
Through it all, God is such a good God to give us His word that we may stand upon it. We can take heart in knowing that "the pain we experience now does not even begin to compare to the joy that is to come" (Romans 8:18)
With love,
Ava Santiago:)
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