Joni and Friends Daily Devotional
A Heart of Silver
"He has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs... Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me."
Psalm 66:9-11, 20
"The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the heart."
Proverbs 17:3
"I love you, God," we say all the time. And we do... I do! But we easily deceive ourselves unless that love for God is proved through a test. Love will say, "I'd do anything for you, God; follow you anywhere." Obedience will say, "... and let me prove it." Obedience is not so much for God's sake, but ours. God wants us to realize the depth of our love for Him.
And so He tests us. He is the one who brings us "into prisons" and "lays burdens on our backs." All the while He never "withholds His love from us." His love drives Him to test us in order to refine us like silver. When gold is put through a refining process, it involves heat, as in a furnace. But when silver is refined, it involves pressure, as when one crushes a metal in a crucible. When a test heats up, you want to escape; when a trial is pressuring, you want to collapse. If we hold on, remain faithful, and rigorously obey, our hearts become refined. Obedience melts away pride and prejudice. Obedience crushes into dust self-centeredness revealing a heart, pure and at peace.
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Others will notice when you come forth shining after a crucible experience. They may applaud your perseverance. Even this can be a test: "The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but man is tested by the praise he receives" (Proverbs 27:21). Your response? "Praise be to God... he has not withheld his love from me."
Refine my heart so that my love for You is real and genuine. I would rather have this trial than a dull, dry heart.
Blessings,
Joni and Friends
www.joniandfriends.org
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