THE REFINER’S FIRE

All the Old Testament prophets foretold God’s people going into the refiner’s fire. “I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried” (Zechariah 13:9).

“For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers soap: and 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 3:2-3).

God said to Jeremiah, “Is not my word like as a fire?” (Jeremiah 23:29). And Jeremiah said, “His word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones” (Jeremiah 20:9). God is once again sending a fiery, refining Word as hot as the coals on His altar! He is turning up the heat. You will see it more and more as the Lord sends forth holy prophets who are purged messengers. “For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven” (Malachi 4:1).

Whenever silver or gold is refined by fire, all impurities, alloys, lesser metals, dirt, little specks of waste and dross come to the surface. Satan comes around when God has you in this purifying process and you are sitting under His red-hot Word. As impurities are brought to the surface and hidden corruption is being separated by fire, the devil says, “Look in the pot and tell me what you see. Dirt and impurities of all kinds. The hotter the message—the more the dirt. Look at you, a refiner’s pot of dirt and corruption! You’re never going to make it! You’ve been under the Word for years and all you’ve got is dirt!”

You answer him, “Devil, see that One sitting beside me? That’s my Master, the Refiner. He’s fanning the flames and it is He who put me in this fire. And, devil, that scum is only surface deep! Below that the whole pot is filled with gold! The Lord is getting us ready. See that thing in His hand? It’s a strainer, and when He’s ready, He’s going to skim off the top of the pot and keep skimming until one day He’ll look in there and smile because He sees His own face reflecting back, right there in me!”