SEARCHLIGHT
Will you remind people of God?
SCRIPTURE
"…I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are my people’, and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’” Zechariah 13:9 NIV
SPOTLIGHT
Terry Bradshaw was an outstanding quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers for 14 seasons. He won 4 Super Bowl titles. After retirement, he became a television sports analyst. Surprisingly to me, I have reminded some people of this famous person. More than once I have been mistaken for this famous celebrity. On one occasion, while I was having dinner in a Florida restaurant with my wife, a man came over to my table and asked me if I was Bradshaw. Having studied me throughout his dinner time, he told his wife he had to find out. I quickly disappointed him.
“You remind me of …” or “You just look like and act like…” Have you ever been told that you are like someone you admire? Maybe you remind people of a parent or sibling. Someone once confused me for a former premier of Ontario. Are you reminding people of someone?
What you should know is that God wants you to remind people of Him. Do you remind people of Jesus Christ, the living God? When you choose to be Christ-like you will be choosing to remind people of Jesus. And this choice will mean you will have to come to appreciate experiencing THE REFINER’S FIRE. God refines you so your life will remind people of Him.
In the above Scripture focus, God is pictured as a refiner. A refiner extracts gold and silver from ore through fire. To refine is to free from impurity and unwanted material. Zechariah presents a picture of God refining believers just like a silversmith or goldsmith. Please understand. God is divine. He is the sovereign, all-knowing God, all-powerful God. He unquestionably knows what He is doing and why He is doing it. God loves believers and considers them to be precious. This is why He refines. God longs for true worshippers to not just be forgiven of their sin and come into a right relationship with Him, but also to become more like Him. God wants them to reflect His character. His image was lost in the Garden of Eden. Always remember. Man was made by God to be God-like. God values believers so much that He refines them in order to become more like Him as they were first made in His image.
Does God allow you to go through tests and trials? YES! Sometimes He does just like Job. The 3 Hebrew men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego went through the burning fiery furnace.
Could God keep you from tests, trials, and tribulations? YES! Many times He does, and you may not even know it. God could have kept the 3 young Hebrew men from the fiery furnace, but He didn’t. Their testimony had a far greater impact on the king than if God had kept them from the over-heated fiery furnace.
Why does God allow you to go through tests and trials? Never forget. You were made to be God-like. [Genesis 1:26] God made man in His image to express Godly character. You lost that Godly image when Adam and Eve sinned. The Bible says all men have fallen short of the mark of being Godly. [Romans 3:23] This means you are not living up to your Godly potential. God longs to pardon and purify you so you can reach your potential. Through Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, you are restored to right relationship with God and then refined by God to reach your full potential.
If you are a believer, you most certainly will go through tests and trials. God assures you that you will come through it like the purification of silver and gold. You will be more God-like. When you remind people of God you will be better-off and the world will be a better place. The question is this. Will you remind people of God? Will you allow Him to refine you?
SOMETHING TO DO
Will you trust God not only to save you but refine you? Check out these 6 key verses the Bible says about God refining: Jeremiah 9:7; Malachi 3:3; Psalm 66:8-12; Romans 5:3-5; 1 Peter 1:6,7; and 1 Peter 4:12-17.
Listen to Andrae Crouch’s song “Through It All”.
SOUL TIME PRAYER
Almighty God, you are my Heavenly Father, and I come to You today to give me a clear understanding and acceptance of You refining me. I have many tears, sorrows, and questions. Help me to sing, “Through it all, I learned to trust in Jesus, I learned to trust in God.” Help me to realize my trials make me strong and Christ-like. Thank you, God, for the mountains and valleys and storms, You have already brought me through, “For if I’d never had a problem, I never know God could solve them, I’d never know what faith in God could do.” AMEN