Friday From the Heart: The Refiner's Fire

Just a quick note today...I am lacking some energy as of yesterday and today, but I wanted to share a great inspiration for me from a different walk through the fire earlier in my journey. There are books on my shelf that will always stay there to pull out and re-read. I have grabbed off the shelf this week As Silver Refined by Kay Arthur. I find comfort in the comparison of trials to the refining process of metals. It can be a long process and in the end you have a precious metal. The poem I share today is the example of refining gold.  But whatever the precious metal, we have a Refiner who knows what we suffer and sees the end from the beginning.
I pray that the precious metal that comes from the Refiner's work in all of our lives will be worth the cost and the heat that it takes to reflect clearly back the reflection of our Savior! Because whatever life's journey is for each one of us, the reality is that we are all survivors of something(s)!

The Refiner's Fire

A.F. Ingler

He sat by a furnace of seven-fold heat,

As He watched by the precious ore.

And closer He bent with a searching gaze,

As He heated it more and more.

He knew He had ore that could stand the test

And He wanted the finest gold,

To mold as a crown, for the king to wear,

Set with gems of price untold.

So He laid our gold in the burning fire,

Tho' we fain would say Him "nay."

And watched the dross that we had not seen

As it melted and passed away.

And the gold grew brighter and got more bright,

But our eyes were dim with tears,

We saw but the fire, not the Master's hand,

And questioned with anxious fears.

Yet our gold shone out with a richer glow

As it mirrored a form above,

That bent o'er the fire, though unseen by us

With a look of ineffable love.

Can we think it pleases His loving heart

to cause us moments of pain?

Ah, no! But He sees through the present cross

The bliss of eternal gain.

So He waited there with a watchful eye,

With a love that is strong and sure.

And His gold did not suffer a bit more heat

Than was needed to make it pure.

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you: when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon you." Isaiah 43:2