Tested and Tried by Affliction

Do you see what I've done?
   I've refined you, but not without fire.
   I've tested you like silver in the furnace of affliction.
(Isaiah 48:10)

Many of you are going through tough times, times that test your mettle, your resolve, tests the very fabric of your existence. Several people have recently remarked to me that they've never experienced anything like this, before.

I'm not surprised.

Those who are children of God will, at times in their lives, find themselves stretched ... tried ... tested as never before. Many break, and run away. It's not uncommon, and it's a very human thing to do. We cry out to God for release, for help, for rescue ... never realizing that it's the process of testing that God has allowed for the very purpose of showing us who we are, inside.

Circumstances change, and situations evolve. It's very human to seek constancy and stability. But the fact is that the only constant is change. Things change all the time. Weather patterns, jobs, relationships, politics, economy ... you name it, it changes over time.

We try to hang on to the things that we like, things that are good, and the harder we try, the faster they slip through our fingers.

We get attached to the way things are, and become distressed when that changes. Sometimes, the pace of change is literally wrenching and painful. Circumstances can evolve so rapidly that it makes our heads spin. People come and go from our lives, patterns of events change, jobs disappear; it's all normal, but it can be heartbreaking.

Why does God allow these things to happen? There are many reasons, but let me suggest a couple.

Maybe you're doing something that will ultimately be hurtful to you or those around you. He'll take it away from you, to save them and you.

But more often, I believe, it's because there's something to be proved. No, He's not trying to find out what's inside you - He already knows. Over time, and after many such trials, I've come to realize that He allows these changes to show us what's inside ourselves.


You want to find out who someone really is?  Wait until they're under a great deal of pressure, and you'll find out.

It's a grape: you don't know what's inside until you squeeze it. Pressure reveals the true inner person. When silver is refined, the dross rises to the top ... and the refiner removes it, thereby purifying the remaining material.

The same thing happens with us. After many fiery trials, the refined person who remains is made more free: free to recognize who or what is truly important, and able to concentrate wonderfully on that which remains.

Someone once said it's a lot more fun having a testimony than getting one. Amen to that! But the process, however painful, is ultimately good for us. We will have learned more about who God is.

And just as importantly, we've found out who we are.