Pure Gold

“But he knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold. For I have stayed on God’s paths; I have followed his ways and not turned aside.” Job 23:10-11

Many years ago, my mother gave me my grandmother’s wedding ring. It’s a simple gold band. It’s kind of bent out of shape. I always assumed it was from age and from being worn, but the reason the ring is bent is that the gold is pure. Gold is often combined with other metals to make it more rigid. Pure gold is soft and pliable because it has been refined by fire.

The Bible often compares the hardships we endure to the refiner’s fire used to purify metals such as gold. Precious metals have to go through the fire to remove impurities. Once refined, gold will become more pliable. Job says, “When he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold.” 

I like the way Pastor Ed Rea writes about God’s refining process, “You might say that in the furnace of trials and suffering, we become God’s gold. If gold is your god, then the furnace of affliction will weaken and embitter you. But if you are God’s gold, the furnace of affliction will purify and better you.”

Don’t allow the furnace of affliction to weaken you, but continue to stay on God’s path and follow his ways and you will become pure gold in his hands, soft and pliable. You won’t become bitter. You will become better.