Malachi 3:1-3 (NASB)
1 “Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts. 2 “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. 3 He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lord offerings in righteousness.
Refining precious metals requires an extremely hot fire. The refiner sits beside the fire and watches the process very closely. When he sees the reflection of his face, he knows the silver or gold is purified. That is what the Lord does to us. He refines us in the heat of the trials and problems we encounters in our lives and watches for His face—the beautiful face of Jesus—in us. On the day of His coming, He will purify us so we can offer our righteousness and worship to Him throughout eternity.
Lord, sometimes it’s hard to go through the trials You send us, but we thank You that through those very trials You are refining us. You are purifying us and making us more like You. We want You to see Yourself in us. Continue to refine and purify us. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
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