This test is hard….. Hang in there!

Today’s post is to encourage you to continue in the Faith and to be steadfast no matter what you are facing. I come to tell you that while you believe in God, that trials will come to test you and these test come from God to build us, strengthen us, prove us and make us presentable to our King and savior Jesus. They also come to prove us that we will truly trust in the Lord. God allows these trials to purify us to remove the impurities of sin in our hearts and minds. This prepares us not for great wealth or possessions or our own ambitions but to meet the Lord when he comes.

In Isaiah, The Lord tells the people of Israel that they have been traitors and rebels from birth. Would any of you, be friends and give to someone your most precious possession, as a gift, when they betray you, defile you, lie on you? Wouldn’t you want to give to a person who, during your sickness brought you food and sat with you? Or when they came to pick you up and take you places when you couldn’t get around, or when all your friends you thought you had left and abandoned you? I would because our friendship has been tried and tested. We argued fought; stop talking to each other for a while, but in the end we forgive each other. The Lord does the same, just because you told everyone else you are friends with Jesus (Jesus my Homeboy), Jesus knew that you would not believe him when He tells you things, and that you would use him for your own gain. This is why we are tested in the fire to prove our faith and trust in the Lord.

Isaiah 48:8-10

(8)  “Yes, I will tell you of things that are entirely new, things you never heard of before. For I know so well what traitors you are. You have been rebels from birth.

(9)  Yet for My own sake and for the honor of My name, I will hold back My anger and not wipe you out.

(10)  I have refined you, but not as silver is refined. Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering.

God says he refines us like gold; let us take a look at the process of Gold refinery. During the refining process the gold once it is mined from the earth is weighed and separated. Once this is done then the gold is put into a crucible, the gold is melted in a furnace with a preset temperature. This is the first initial melting of the gold, which release the minerals that are mixed in with the gold. The gold is filtered out from the other minerals with a rinse water (the initial conversion of a believer in Christ) the word of God is like water that cleanses. The gold is then after filtering and skimming, is put back into the fire reheated to release any other trace elements of minerals then, skimmed again, the gold is allowed to harden in the crucible, then it is reheated and skimmed poured into cold water, where the final process of weighing and assigning the gold a karat weigh is done.

If you notice that the gold is first mined from the earth, whereas people are made from the dust of the earth. Next, the gold is weighed and separated; God separates the true believers in Christ from the false fake Christians. The next step, we are put into a crucible is a vessel in which to melt minerals, metals, and alloys into liquid and can withstand very high temperatures. The crucible is life and the fire are the trials, tribulations, sorrows, grief’s we endure as we live that shows us our true character and integrity, our endurance, patience.

The Lord’s furnace of refinery also burns to expose our sins. In Ezekiel we see the Jews brought back to Israel and exposed to war, grief and famine. The Lord God used that war to test and purify his chosen people; what he found was “worthless slag”, so much so that there was no gold or precious metals that could be used. The slag was the impurities left after the process; it showed God that His people were only fit for judgment and the object of His anger.

Ezekiel 22:17-22

(17)  Then this message came to me from the LORD:

(18)  “Son of man, the people of Israel are the worthless slag that remains after silver is smelted. They are the dross that is left over—a useless mixture of copper, tin, iron, and lead.

(19)  So tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because you are all worthless slag, I will bring you to My crucible in Jerusalem.

(20)  Just as copper, iron, lead, and tin are melted down in a furnace, I will melt you down in the heat of my fury.

(21)  I will gather you together and blow the fire of My anger upon you,

(22)  and you will melt like silver in fierce heat. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have poured out my fury on you.'”

When we face trial and tribulation and persecution we have a natural tendencies to complain, to blame God and the world, to begin to doubt God and our purpose, but this reaction only serves as a sign of distrust in a believer in Christ. Instead of complaining or questioning God and giving up on the faith, we should instead ask for:

1. Strength: 2 Corinthians 12:9Each time He said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.

1. Wisdom: asking god for wisdom on how to get through, and what not to do and how to overcome our current circumstances. Also to learn from the your experiences (Ja.1:5)

1. Endurance: to persevere through those times, when it seems like you cant make it through, when all hope and strength is gone. When the walls of your life seems to come down around you. You need endurance to keep hope and trust and to keep moving forward in faith. Romans 5:4(4) And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.

1. Courage: to endure, to ask for wisdom, to face your problems head on, to fight and stand fast against the enemy Satan and his plots to destroy you. Courage in the face of humiliation, despair and fear.

James 1:2-5

(2)  Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.

(3)  For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.

(4)  So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

In above verse of scripture from James, He tells us that we should be glad of these trials that test our faith, for we being made right with God through Jesus Christ also suffer with him and he will reward, honor and rejoice over our ability to continue to trust him even when it is absurd to do so. Remember Noah; who by faith built the ark, commanded by God and all the fold of the earth laughed at him. But in the end he was proven righteous and has come into the promise rest of God for his faithfulness.

Lastly, I want to encourage you to keep the faith, and stand strong even when things don’t seem to be going your way, or when the promises of God seems delayed, that we have brothers and sisters in Christ that are being tested today. Many have lost all their family, friends, and jobs because of their faith. They are killed and martyred because they will not deny Jesus Christ. They are fighting the good fight, the world said they have lost but we know that just because a man kills our bodies, it is God that can kill the soul and body, and also save both the body and soul and bring us whole into his promised kingdom where, there is no sickness, strife, no tears of grief and mourning, a place of eternal rest and communion with our lord face to face!

May the Prince of Peace Jesus Christ, give you comfort from these words.

Receiving Grace, Living Redeemed

Redeemed One