Recognizing an ugly attitude or an unkind heart in yourself sure can knock you off that righteous ladder! Witnessing this sin within myself, my pride completely dissolved, dropping me to my knees. It is extremely humbling, depressing, and discouraging, and an uncomfortable place to be. I am still an imperfect, messy sinner, who is once again begging for God’s mercy. So why is my resolve so weak that I keep screwing up? How much more can God take of my continual repenting?

Our Heavenly Father has a way of pointing out our flaws and weaknesses to get us to recognize them in order to show our dire need to address them right away. If we allow this ugliness to remain in our life, then we are disobeying our Lord, and hurting ourselves and possibly our own testimony.

“And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.”
Malachi 3:3

The term ‘refining like silver’, this is my current cup. A silversmith explained that the only way to purify and refine silver is to hold it in the middle of the fire where the flames are the hottest so that all the impurities are burned away. This is how the Lord works in us: He puts us or allows us to be in the middle of a tense, difficult, challenging, sometimes emotionally or physically painful moment in order to teach us how to overcome in His name, thus grow in our faith in Jesus Christ as a result. Getting the impurities out of our heart, i.e., the ugliness of pride, selfishness, impatience, unkindness, etc. will through our changed lives put God’s goodness and mercy on display, bringing Him glory well deserved!

“For the sake of My name I delay My wrath,
And for My praise I restrain it for you,
In order not to cut you off.
“Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver;
I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
“For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act;
Isaiah 48:9-10

This is my hope: that my knees will wear down before God’s patience does.

I resolve to be refined for the glory of Jesus my Lord, blessing Him for it.

“For You have tried us, O God;
You have refined us as silver is refined….
Yet You brought us out into a place of abundance.”
Psalm 66:10,12

Food for thought: My prayer is that daily I become more purified so that my life will bring glory and honor due to our Creator and Designer, as this jewelry made in Israel does for its creator and country.

Fun facts: Sterling silver is not a pure precious metal as it is 92.5% silver, though it is stronger than pure silver. Avoid humidity, chlorine, bleach and salt as they tarnish and damage sterling silver.

Photo by: Kari Wiseman – Sterling Silver Earrings