Refined

Isaiah 48:10-11
See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another.


Refinement in the "furnace of affliction." I think we’ve all been there at one point or another. I think it’s difficult for us to think of a "loving God" as One who would purposely send us through affliction. Yet, it says right here that He does, and that it is to refine us. Why? Because He will not share His glory. He will not be defamed.

First off, I think it should be said that all affliction, all trouble in our lives is not sent down from above. Yes, God allows all things - He could stop anything, if He desired, and He will use all things to grow and mature us, even to refine us. Sometimes, however, He will purposely send affliction our way. Refinement, is simply a process through which God sifts out impurities in us, so that the world can see our purity, the reflection of Christ. He rejoices when we come to Him, but He then wants us to draw others to Him through our lives. If we tell our friends that we are Christians, that we worship the Lord Jesus Christ, but they don’t see it in our lives, what are they going to think? People want change, they want to see a life renewed, full of joy and vigor. Why would they be drawn to Christ, if those who claim to follow Him are really no different than they are? If that is the case, then Christ offers nothing, in their eyes.

So, God refines us. In this passage, if you look at the context, He is specifically talking about the issue of idolatry, which we all have much experience with. Especially in America, there is so much available that we can worship, whether consciously or subconsciously - money, people, power, stuff. Idols can be such tricky little things, too. I wonder how many of us idolize ourselves. Pride, they call it - a focus of self. And I’m not talking about arrogance, although that is one form. I’m talking about our focus. I’m talking about thinking more about yourself, and your woes and troubles, or glories and triumphs, than you think about anyone else, including (and especially) God. Pride is a sticky one, one that I think we all fight in one form or another. But God will not share His glory - He will not share it with our powerless idols, and He will not share it with us. And so He sends affliction, perhaps ripping our idol from our hands, or just gently lifting our chins to face Him, so that we will release it. Will we let Him?

Will we let God refine us, taking away all but Him, so that He would get the glory not only from those around us, but also from us? Or will we fight Him, and curse Him, and tell Him that we can’t, and beg and plead and show Him how pathetic we are without our idol? He knows we’re pathetic, that’s why He wants to take away that which is of no value and replace it with that which is of utmost value - Himself. Let’s look at the areas of affliction in our lives right now, and see if, perhaps, God is trying to rid us of a powerless idol. And when we see that He is, let’s each of us give it up willingly, knowing that we will receive, in return, the King of Glory - all that we could ever want or need. Amen!