Gold That Remains

When he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.

-Job 23:10

Few of us would have the confidence Job displayed in this verse.  We might rather assume that when God has tested us in the same manner that gold is refined, many impurities will be consumed.  Eventually, perhaps, we will come forth as gold, but not immediately.  Sin runs too deep and the refining process so excruciatingly long.

Perhaps it is overconfidence that leads Job to say such a thing, or perhaps he really was that much more righteous than the rest of us.  Either way, whether he is right about himself or not, he has hit on a foundational spiritual principle:

God tries his servants, and the intended result is pure gold.

Just as the cross of Jesus revealed the character of God within him, so does the fire of trial reveal the character of God within us.  Are we patient?  We and the world will only know it if our patience is tested.  Are we loving?  It will not be seen until we are confronted with hatred.  Are we full of faith?  There is no evidence until circumstances dictate against it.

The fruit of the Spirit is sometimes latent within us until its antithesis appears.  Superficial joy and real joy look exactly the same until the storm comes and blows one of them away.  Peace isn’t really peace unless it can survive when attacked.   And deeper still:  your life in the Spirit isn’t life at all if it melts away when death threatens.

We want all the fruits of the Spirit and all of the blessings of Christlikeness, but we rarely realize the cost.  What God gives us is proven genuine when it is assaulted by the troubles of this world and the wiles of the enemy.  It is the way God reveals himself through his saints.  It is the way the authentic is distinguished from the superficial.  It is the way to come forth as gold.

Are you running from tests?  Don’t.  Stand firm in them.  Let God do his purifying work.  Get ready to shine.

With love and affection,

A long-time Oasis member