“He’s Still Working On Me….”

The story is told of a group of women in a Bible stud on the book of Malachi.  As they were studying Chapter 3, they came across verse 3 which says, “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver….”

The verse puzzled the woman and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.  One of the women offered to find out about the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible study.

That week the woman called up a Silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work.  She didn’t mention anything about the reason for her interest in silver beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.

As she watched the Silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up.  He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were the hottest as to burn away any impurities.

The woman though about God holding us in such a “hot spot”, then she thought again about the verse, “He sits as a refiner & purifier of silver….”

She asked the Silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.  The man answered a resounding, “YES!”

He not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire.  If the silver was even left for a second too long in the flames, it would be destroyed!

The woman was silent for a moment…then she asked the Silversmith, “How do you know when the silver is fully refined?”  He smiled and answered, “Oh, that’s easy…when I can see my image in it.”

Every single one of us is a work in progress. We all have those times when we feel that we are getting scorched by the fires of this world, and feel like it’s just too much for us to handle.

But we have the assurance, and we can praise God, that we know His eye is always on us, that He not only knows how much we can bear, but also promises us that He will never leave or forsake us.

When I was a child there was a song that I used to sing, and it went something like this,

He’s still working on me, to make me what I ought to be!

It took Him just a week to make the Moon & Stars.

The Sun, & the Earth, Jupiter & Mars.

How loving and patient He must be!

‘Cus He’s still working on me!

He’s still working on me, and He’s still working on you. Though the fire may get hot, let us allow Him to continue the process of refining & purifying us, so that we can be made into His Image.

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