Refiner’s fire. How God wires in a secure attachment to him and brings us to a place of abundance.

Zechariah 13:9
“And 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: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God

God allows trials, the furnace of affliction to perfect us in his love and bring about a secure attachment in him to where we’re no longer slaves to fear. Each and every trial is an opportunity to wire in a more secure attachment to God by going to the throne of grace in our time of need and God then showing us his faithful, covenant love in our lives giving us an experiential knowledge of God as a savior vs just a head knowledge in each and every situation of our lives.

Just as God purposely led Israel through the wilderness of adversity to show them through personal experience that he is savior in all areas of their lives God desires to do the same to us so we will enter into his rest! God will allow organized chaos in our lives and it’s up to us to trust his wisdom and love while in the fire and trust him that all our needs were already met before the foundation of the world!

Hebrews 4:3
“For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.”
The strength and maturity of our faith are revealed by fire- the trials and tribulations of life.

1 Peter 1:7
So that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

1 Peter 5:10
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

Why God! Why are you allowing this!? Don’t you see I’m suffering? Do you like to see me suffer? If you’re so good then why are you allowing all this pain?

This used to be me in my younger days when I was too blind and selfish to discern the hands of an all-loving and wise God. Though truthfully I can still have these days of deep lament and confusion when I’m overwhelmed by my pain and anguish. Some days you just want peace and feel like a lack of trial and tribulation would be nice. I can handle trials with much more grace than I used to now that I understand the purpose of trials but this doesn’t negate the fact that trials can still be downright hard and painful.

I’m so thankful I can at least see the beauty of trials and I now have the understanding that it’s not in vain. It’s much easier to go through trials when you know it’s not in vain and that God promises to bring good out of it all. God has shown me our trials will never be in vain, that they are always purposeful, and that the benefits will always outweigh the bad, bringing us to a place of abundance and true spiritual gold.

I am learning to thank God for my trials because I can see that God really does know what he’s doing and I can trust him even in my deepest darkest days of anguish and lament while still knowing he’s a God of wisdom and love. Hey, he died for me to place my trust in him. He showed me at the cross that he’s not self-motivated or self-interested. He’s only ever selfless. I find it much easier to put my trust in this type of love than I could someone who is motivated purely out of selfishness and self-interest and I’m here to tell you, that you too can trust him no matter what you’re going through!

Life Application
The next time you go through a trial think back to God’s faithfulness in your life and claim his promises and rest in his love. This will anchor your soul in the midst of all the confusion and overwhelm and will push back the clouds of darkness, and will anchor your soul in hope. This will allow you to have a faithful expectation of God’s covenant unwavering love and allow your soul to rest in his love trusting he knows what he’s doing. This is God’s will for us in trials. He just asks that we trust his love and wisdom and that he will bring us safely to the other side. We can trust his promise that before the foundation of the world, all our needs were already provided for!