One thing on this earth that people highly value is gold. We put it on our fingers, around our necks, and even in our teeth. But the gold that you have on your body is certainly not in the form we dug out of the ground or panned for in that stream. Of course, it’s been reshaped into rings, necklaces, and so on. But it’s also been purified.

You see, gold in its natural state is mixed with lots of other things, like less desirable metals and rock. Gold has to be separated from all of that so that pure metal remains, and that is a process called refining. The most common way to do that throughout the ages is by fire. The gold must be melted, but in order to do that, the fire must reach almost 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, using a device called a crucible. That’s incredibly hot. But, once that happens, the gold melts and falls to the bottom, and all the impurities rise to the top, where they can be skimmed off and disposed of, leaving nothing but pure gold behind.

But gold isn’t the only thing that is refined. The Bible tells us that God also refines the human heart. The Bible says in Proverbs 17:3, “The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the LORD tests hearts.” Our hearts are a mixture of what is pure and impure, and God wants to get rid of all that’s impure in us. And, He does that by refining our hearts.

How does God do that? Well, sometimes He does that by simply changing our hearts through teaching. But other times, our hearts can only be purified by adding heat, so to speak. And so, God takes us through some flames, some difficulties, a refiner’s fire, and in the end, all of the bad stuff is burned away so that only the good stuff remains.

The refining fire of God isn’t easy, but it’s blessed. That’s God’s love and goodness to you. So, may you trust Him as He works to give you a pure heart!

Change begins in you!