Daily Devotional – Monday, July 11, 2022
Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver. I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
Isaiah 48:10 (NKJV)
It is possible to have heard doubts about your faith and spirituality during trials. You ask God why He is allowing you to suffer yet you are faithfully to Him or you are not ‘all that sinful”.
Some Christians even abandon the faith because they cannot comprehend a God who allows human beings to suffer. Either God does not exist or He does not care, they conclude.
I have tested you in the furnace of affliction
Through Prophet Isaiah, God gives us a glimpse into His attitude and purpose in allowing the faithful to undergo hard times, “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver. I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.” (Isaiah 48:10).
God treats us like mineral ore. Trials are like fire that cleans the dross and reveals the precious metal of godly character. If God saw nothing good in us, He would not allow us to go through afflictions.
In the world you will have tribulation
Because Jesus allows us to face trials for our own good, He promises to be with us in the fire: “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33).
If you are going through trials and afflictions because of your faith or because of the environment you live in, be patient as God refines your character for this life and for eternity. God-ordained affliction is another evidence of His immense love for you, hard as that may be to accept.
Prayer
Loving God, thank You for allowing me to go through affliction.
