SING! SING! SING! By Donna in California
(Note from Linda: I have no doubt that everyone standing for marriage restoration will be blessed and encouraged by the post Donna shared on the private website over the weekend. And since one of the other members reminded me of something I had shared in a Seeds Of Faith post over two years ago, The Power and Purpose of the Refiner’s Fire, I want to share that as well because it really does go hand in hand with the powerful message in Donna’s post. As I shared then, I received the following in an email message that morning:
“Malachi 3:3 says: “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.”
This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.
That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn’t mention anything about the reason for her interest 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 hottest as to burn away all the impurities.
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: “He sits as a refiner and 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 that 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 left a moment 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 at her and answered, “Oh, that’s easy — when I see my image in it.”
So I pray that anyone who is feeling the intense heat of the Refiner’s fire or the discomfort of the Potter’s wheel, will be comforted to know that Luke 3:16 says John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. And instead of feeling defeated and discouraged because of the heat and pressure, I hope and pray that you will keep your eyes upon Jesus so you can be purified, strengthened, blessed, and encouraged as you’re molded and transformed to reflect the image of Christ! And we will indeed be blessed and encouraged when we learn to sing our Lord’s praises even in the midst of our trials as Donna shared!)
Hi FAMM Family,
I am so excited about the growth of the ministry that I’m rejoicing. Welcome to all of the new members. This may very well be the most exciting time of our lives. How incredibly AWESOME to have the privilege of watching God transform us and our spouses into the vessels He has always intended us to be.
I saw John Hagee on television the other day, and he was speaking about his trip to Israel. He said he and his wife went to a potter’s house to see how he worked with the clay. He said that the potter was working on his wheel, taking the lumps out of the clay. The potter put the clay on the wheel, which he turned with his feet, and then pounded the clay until there were no more lumps. He then formed it into a vessel and placed it in the fire. Hagee asked the potter how he knew when the pot was ready to be removed from the fire. The potter replied, “When it sings.” The potter removed the pot from the fire, and while it was still red with heat, he thumped the pot, and the pot rang out the most beautiful sound; like a song. So it was ready to be removed from the fire. If the pot had not responded with a song, the potter would have put it back into the fire until it sang.
I think this is a beautiful analogy of how God molds us. God is the potter, and we are the clay. And it seems that the more we sing, the quicker we get out of the fire. Praise God and rejoice. The answer is always in our response to the fire we are in at any given time. So, I am singing my heart out. God bless our family and remember to SING, SING, SING!