Material for a vessel

Daily Reading:  Proverbs 25-26

Scripture Focus: Take away the dross from the silver, and the smith has material for a vessel. (Proverbs 25.4)

Devotional Thought: Silver is refined in stages.  The silversmith heats the silver in fire, and the dross rises to the surface.  The dross then is skimmed off, and the silver is heated again - this time to a higher temperature.  More dross comes to the surface and is skimmed off.  This process is repeated until all the impurities are removed.  Only then is the silver ready to be worked into the finished product.

God does the same thing to us as he prepares us for the "finished product." 

Life's troubles are the fires that heat us up.  Sometimes these things are accidental and incidental, such as compromised health, job difficulties, strained relationships, financial setbacks, even misunderstandings.  As we grow in Christ, we face things that we didn't before.  We are tested far beyond what we think we can bear.  These trials are a necessary part of our sanctification.

We can't forget the next step, however.  Fire in and of itself will not purify silver.  The impurities remain unless removed.  There has to be a skimming. Anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, lust, greed and more... all these things are to be skimmed away.  We can't keep them!

There is another way for silver to be purified, however, and that is by the addition of nitric acid.  In this process the nitric acid absorbs the silver and carries it away from the impurities.  This is analogous to being filled with the Spirit so fully that there is no room for any impurities!

When we are purified, God has the material he needs for the "finished product."  The level of purification determines the level of usefulness to the silversmith and beauty in the object.  Let's allow God to purify us completely!

Prayer: "Purify my heart!  Let me be as gold and precious silver.  Refiners fire, my heart's one desire is to be holy, det apart for you, ready to do your will."  Amen.

Psalm of the Day:  16 The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. 17 In them the birds build their nests; the stork has her home in the fir trees. 18 The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers. 19 He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting. 20 You make darkness, and it is night, when all the beasts of the forest creep about. 21 The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God. 22 When the sun rises, they steal away and lie down in their dens. 23 Man goes out to his work and to his labor until the evening. (Psalms 104:16-23)