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God Leads Us to Perfect Trust, December 1
He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of
Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord
an offering in righteousness.
Malachi 3:3
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The refining process is hard for human nature to endure; but only by it can the
dross be purged from the character. In the furnace of trial we are purified from the
dross that prevents us from reflecting the image of Christ. God measures every
trial; He watches the furnace fire that must test every soul.
Through trial God leads His children to perfect trust. “In the world ye shall
have tribulation,” Christ says; “but in Me ye shall have peace.” It is through much
tribulation, that we are to enter the kingdom of God....
No cross, no crown. How can we be strong in the Lord without trial? To have
physical strength, we must have exercise. To have strong faith, we must be placed
in circumstances where our faith will be tried. Every temptation resisted, every
trial bravely borne, gives us a new experience, and advances us in the work of
character building. Our Saviour was tried in every way, yet He triumphed in God
constantly. It is our privilege under all circumstances to be strong in the strength
of God, and to glory in the cross of Christ.
Through affliction God reveals to us the plague spots in our characters, that by
His grace we may overcome our faults. Unknown chapters in regard to ourselves
are opened to us, and the test comes, whether we will accept the reproof and the
counsel of God. When brought into trial, we are not to fret and worry. We should
not rebel, or worry ourselves out of the hand of Christ. We are to humble the soul
before God.
The ways of the Lord are obscure to him who desires to see things in a light
pleasing to himself. They appear dark and joyless to our human nature. But God’s
ways are ways of mercy and the end is salvation.
Elijah knew not what he was doing when in the desert he said that he had had
enough of life, and prayed that he might die. The Lord in His mercy did not take
him at His word. There was yet a great work for Elijah to do; and when his work
was done, he was not to perish in discouragement and solitude in the wilderness.
Not for him the descent into the dust of earth, but the ascent in glory, with the
convoy of celestial chariots to the throne on high....
“Happy is the man whom God correcteth.... He maketh sore, and bindeth up;
he woundeth, and his hands make whole.” ... To every stricken one, Jesus comes
with the ministry of healing. The life of bereavement, pain, and suffering may
be brightened by precious revealings of His presence.—
The Signs of the Times,
February 5, 1902
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