The Silver Mine

Sometimes life is difficult...sometimes God shows us His mercy by the trials we must endure.  From "Jesus Calling: "Sometimes my blessings come to you in mysterious ways: through pain and trouble.  At such times you can know my goodness only through your trust in Me.  Understanding will fail you, but trust will keep you close to me."...:Listen to me!  Tune out the other voices so that you can hear Me more clearly."

Seems like this has been the story of much of my life...Even more prophetic is that this is taken from March 31...my birth date...as if this is the message He must constantly remind me of as I begin my next year with Him.

This has been a struggle much of my life.  Throughout my journey with Him, God has revealed Himself to me through my circumstances in the different perspectives of His name...My Saviour (Elohe Tishuathi), My Sustainer (Jehovah Uzzi), My Provider (Jehovah-Jireh), My Great Physician (The God Who Heals - Jehovah-Jireh), My Lord (Adonai), The Most High God (Worthy of all Praise - El Eyon),
The God that Sanctifies you (Jehovah Mekaddishkem).   There are so may more, but these are areas that have had a huge impact on my life...


I suppose the most difficult has been the God who sanctifies.  Sanctify means to make holy, to purify, to set apart.  It's like silver.  To purify the silver and separate the pure silver from the dross.  The refiner must hold the silver in the hottest point of the flame, in order to purify it.  But he must keep his eyes on it the entire time, because if it's left a moment too long, it destroys the silver.  He knows the exact moment at which the silver is purified because he can see his own image clearly in the silver.  Only then is it refined and ready for use.  


How much more does that apply to us...as God seeks to refine us, His fire consists of the trials we endure.  The hotter the fire, the purer the result.  But His eyes are constantly on us to as not to destroy...For as He said in John 10:10: "The thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy.  I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance."


Imagine that...going through the flames, coming out purified...not charred...in order to have an abundant life.  Reminds me of three others who had a fiery trial...


"I am the living One who sees you and longs to participate in your life.  I am training you to find Me in each moment and to be a channel of my loving blessing." (JC)


So that means even in my areas of service, that aren't my passion; even in the middle of a crowded wal-mart with lots of stamps, in a classroom of students who don't seem eager at all to be there, even on the way to work behind one who drives 15 miles under the speed limit, or the next guy who goes 15 miles over and swerves through traffic...even when I can't see the forest for the trees, and I have no idea how I will ever reach my next destination, ever fulfill my heart's passion, even when His favor falls in my less favorite area of service.  


Even in all these times, He is training me to be a channel of His love.  How will I fare?  Only He knows.  Prayerfully, I seek to honor Him and be successful in His eyes to lead others to Him.  Perhaps a little selfishly, I pray for opportunity to pursue and grow and use my passion to do the same...to make the less joyous task more pleasurable and fulfilling.  But mostly, to know that I have been the one He created me to be, and completed the task He has given me to fulfill.


Now to discover the details of that task...