Over the last couple years, the following story kept reappearing in our e-mail inbox. It was called "Refining Silver" and its meaning, though simple, was extremely powerful. In short, it is a quick lesson on how a silversmith refines silver -- a lesson that can be applied to the many ways God "refines" His own Creations:

As God's Creations, most of us have gone through "fire" in one way or another and, hopefully, we learned from the experience. Through our trials and tribulations, rough edges were smoothed and sharp edges were sluffed off, until we more closely resembled what we were meant to be.

God allows us to go through hard times so that we may grow and become smooth and shiny. His goal is for us to become a reflection of Him.

Isaiah 48:10: Look, I have refined you, but not [as severely] as silver; [rather]I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

Many have asked themselves, "If God is good and all powerful, why do good people suffer?" For true believers, of course, this question smacks of unbelief toward God, and an ignorance about the human condition that can neither glorify God nor give us any genuine comfort. First of all, if we really knew ourselves, and the truths of scripture, we would not ask about the "good" people because, apart from God's redeeming grace, there is no such thing:

Romans 3:11-12: "... No one seeks God, all have turned away and at the same time become useless; there is no one who shows kindness, not a single one!"

Isaiah 64:6: All of us are like someone unclean, all our righteous deeds like menstrual rags; we wither, all of us, like leaves; and our misdeeds blow us away like the wind.

If God is infinitely good and sovereign over all things, why does He allow us to suffer?

While no one knows all the answers, we suffer in this world because God is "refining" us, both for our benefit, and for His glory. Some experience broken relationships; others, the loss of a loved one; still others, health or financial problems, etc. The key is, we need to have a clear spiritual perspective from which we can triumph in spite of whatever difficulties come into our lives. YHWH Himself has provided some light on this question that needs to be explored. He is infinitely good in a way that is far above us; and He has given us his infallible word that everything must work ultimately for the good of His children:

Romans 8:28: Furthermore we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called in accordance with his purpose .... "

Most of us are quick to blame God whenever things go wrong in our lives. (Few ever say, "Satan, why did you do this to me?") That's why it's important to realize the value of our present situation -- that the storms of our lives, after all, could be God's way of teaching us a lesson of some kind; something we need to know that we could never learn any other way. It could be a test of our faith to remind us who is in charge. Or, it could be a situation He wants us to personally experience so we can later use it to help someone else.

Case in point, I was sexually abused throughout my entire childhood, starting when I was a tiny baby. My mother gave me away to be reared by foster parents when I was just six weeks old and when I was almost nine years old, in order to be able to leave her native Germany with a new, American husband, she decided to follow the easiest route, which was to simply take me back. It turned out that her new husband was an abusive pedophile who ended up sexually abusing me from the time I was ten until age 14, when my mother finally divorced him. When I was 12, my adoptive grandfather also tried to "show me the ropes" about sex; as did my mother's third husband when I was 15.

Although I knew there was supposedly a god, I had never had any religious training whatsoever, and often found myself asking "Why did you let this happen to me?" of an entity I knew nothing about. So, hard-headed and determined to "be somebody," I fought my own battles in life and, consequently, made many mistakes through trial and error, especially when it came to my relationships with men.

Finally, at age 44, after a lifetime of misery and strife (much of it due to my own fault), I found Yeshua, and that is when true healing and restoration came into my life! That is when I finally got answers to a myriad questions:

• Why did You allow me to be a sexually abused throughout my entire childhood?
  
  
• Why did You allow my alcoholic, unloving mother to retrieve me from my beloved foster parents, only to have to go through the hell of several divorces, remarriages, and many dysfunctional relationships with her?
  
  
• Why did You allow me marry abusive alcoholics or drugs abusers who treated me like dirt?

The answer in all cases was: "Because I give everyone the choice to either follow Me, or give themselves over to the enemy."

Oh my! What an all-encompassing answer to questions no one had ever been able to answer for me before! For the first time in my life I realized that ALL experiences - good or bad - are but learning experiences, and that God gives us all choices. Unfortunately YOUR choice might impact me, and then it's up to me to learn to deal with it through my own faith in God…..

That particular answer, along with the understanding that Yeshua loved me enough to die for me on the cross, did more for me than a million psychiatrists could ever have done!

Ecclesiastes 7:14: When things are going well, enjoy yourself; but when things are going badly, consider that God made the one alongside the other, so that people would learn nothing of their futures.

Who can say exactly why God allows bad things to happen to us? He's God; He can do whatever He wants. One thing is for sure: Whether our limited human minds choose to believe it or not, God has His reasons for the things He does, and whatever He does is always perfect.

As evidenced in Genesis 3 man's suffering began because of the choice Adam and Eve made in the Garden of Eden. They literally "had it made" until they chose to disobey God, consequently, bringing down His curse upon the whole human race. (Dare we say, they "blew it over a mere piece of fruit"?)

Although believers are reconciled with YHWH through the cross, the application of that redemption is still an ongoing process. Yeshua paid the penalty and broke the power of sin but the presence of sin will in part remain a reality until the consummation of redemption. While Yeshua's death on the cross did not take away man's suffering, it served to do some of the following:

• It took the weight off Man's shoulders to try to work his way into God's good graces.
  
  
• It did away with the need for animal sacrifices and many other things God used to demand of Man.
  
  
• Most importantly, Yeshua's death redeemed us once and for all. He took all of our sins upon Himself so that we might have eternity in Heaven--and the ONLY thing required of us in exchange is to believe on the shed blood of the Messiah Yeshua; that He died for us.

There are a couple of reasons that make suffering inevitable for believers, in particular. First, we are at war with the Satan's Kingdom. Even though Yeshua has conquered Satan, the "clean-up operations" continue and there are still pockets of resistance. Secondly, God allows us to suffer as part of our calling.

Phil. 1:29: "… Because, for the Messiah's sake it has been granted to not only to trust in him, but also to suffer on his behalf ...."

John 16:33, however, provides a word of encouragement and the basis for that encouragement.

John 16:33: "I have said these things to you so that, united with me, you may have shalom. In the world, you have tsuris [trouble]. But be brave! I have conquered the world!"

We are going to have trouble in this world, especially because we are believers. But we are to take heart, and be encouraged in spite of that. Why? Because Yeshua has overcome the world! Because of His death on our behalf, Satan is a defeated foe.

Romans 5:3-5: "But not only that, let us also boast in our troubles; because we know that trouble produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope; and this hope does not let us down, because Gods' love for us has already been poured out in our hearts through the Ruach HaKodesh who has been given to us."

Did you notice: Suffering builds character! A. W. Tozer said, "God has to hurt a man deeply before he can use him greatly." (Example: Billy Graham's son, Franklin, before he took over his father's ministry, was an atheist, an alcoholic and a blasphemer...)

Are you able to rejoice in your suffering? Job did, in spite of everything God allowed Him to endure-and he was greatly blessed for it in the end! He lost everything, from his livestock, to his sons, to his home; yet he never turned his back on God, not even when his wife encouraged him to "Curse God and die!" (Job 2:9) As a reward for his undying devotion and obedience, God gave him more than he had before! Rav Sha-ul (the Apostle Paul) was able to whole-heartedly sing songs of praise despite having endured beatings, imprisonment, shipwrecks, floggings, danger, deprivation, and unfaithful associates. Would you be able to do the same?

If the answer is "No," then the question is: why not? Do you not believe that Messiah Yeshua is in control? Do you not trust Him with even your smallest problem? He died for you; what else do you need to know?

If your faith is shaken by the slightest breeze, then how will you withstand a gale?

If your primary heart motive and purpose in life are not to glorify God perhaps you are not "walking in Torah" and living for Yeshua. In other words, when you are unhappy about your circumstances, it generally means your heart is not right with God.

In the midst of difficulties, it is important to understand them in light of scriptural truth. If we psychologize them, we will fail to discern the spiritual dynamics, and fail to find the blessing God wants to bring. Psychiatrists and psychologists don't have the correct answer. Those who pursue an answer through humanistic psychology will be disappointed because they cannot confront and correct their underlying problems, which point to a self-centered life.

Remember also that, as we emerge from the fire, we enter into a double blessing because now we are able to give to others the comfort and encouragement which we ourselves have received (II Cor. 1:3, 4).

2 Corinthians 1:3-4: Praised be God, Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, compassionate Father, God of all encouragement and comfort; who encourages us in all our trials, so that we can encourage others in whatever trials they may be undergoing with the encouragement we ourselves have received from God.

Suffering, from the eternal perspective, is a privilege. It is one of the higher forms of declaring the glory of God. It inevitably points us to the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. After all, He died for us! God personally experienced strife and suffering, and what's more, He chose to do it! His death on that cross was surely most excruciating. During His ministry He was persecuted; flogged, cursed, and spat upon, and His ultimate death on the cross was violent and gruesome.

Isaiah 52:14: Just as many who were appalled at him, because he was so disfigured that he didn't even seem human and simply no longer looked like a man ...."

John 19:34: However, one of the soldiers stabbed his side with a spear, and at once blood and water flowed out.

Isaiah 53:3: People despised and avoided him, a man of pains, well acquainted with illness. Like someone from whom people turn their faces, he was despised; we did not value him.

Yeshua, the Divine Substitute bore the sins of those who rightly deserved the punishment of God. He was the innocent sufferer dying for the guilty. He was suffering for our transgressions.

Zechariah 12:10: "... and I will pour out on the House of David and on those living in Yerushalayim a spirit of grace and prayer; and they will look to me, whom they pierced."

Why did the divine Servant have to suffer?

The Psalmist in Psalm 119:176 tells us: "I strayed like a lost sheep; seek out your servant; for I do not forget your mitzvot." We are like a flock of dumb sheep that have all gone astray. All of us are destitute of salvation. We all have gone our own self-seeking way. We became egocentric instead of God-centered.

I Corinthians 15:3-5: "For among the first things I passed on to you was what I also received, namely this: The Messiah died for our sins, in accordance with what the Tanakh says; and he was buried; and he was raised on the third day, in accordance with what the Tanakh says; and he was seen by Kefa, then by the Twelve ...."

When we shift our focus from ourselves and what others "have done to us" to the Messiah Yeshua -- and what he has for us eternally -- we are able to rejoice!

Hebrews 12:2, 3: ... looking away to the Initiater and Completer of that trusting, Yeshua - who, in exchange for obtaining the joy set before him, endured execution on a stake as a criminal scorning the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Finally, consider this: God does some of His best work in and through "broken vessels."

In II Corinthians 4:7 the Apostle Paul writes about God's Holy Presence--the light God that shines into the lives and minds of believers: But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it will be evident that such overwhelming power comes from God and not from us.

The point Paul is making is God's valuable treasure is contained in weak, fragile, and valueless containers -- our earthen bodies. God doesn't use beautiful flasks to house His fragrance. He has chosen to put the treasure of His fragrance in clay pots. He uses earthen vessels, not fine china. He takes simple clay pots and fills them with His glory. Fragile and flawed, cracked and leaky clay pots are His choice vessels.

II Cor 4:8-11: "We have all kinds of troubles, but we are not crushed; we are perplexed, yet not in despair; persecuted, yet not abandoned; knocked down, yet not destroyed. We always carry in our bodies the dying of Yeshua, so that the life of Yeshua may be manifested in our bodies too. For we who are alive are always being handed over to death for Yeshua's sake, so that Yeshua's life also might be manifested in our mortal bodies."

God's power is perfected in our weaknesses. When we die, He lives. When we lose, He wins. When we are weak, He is strong. When we are dependent, He is powerful. When we are tempted, He is triumphant.

God does this so that only He will get the glory. We cannot point at our triumphs and say, how great I am. We can't say, "Look what I have done."

In short, we suffer in this life because of the choice Adam and Eve made in the Garden of Eden. We suffer because of sin in our lives; we suffer because God allows it as a possible teaching tool; or, so that we can experience something first-hand in order to be able to help someone else. Whatever the reason, God wants us to seek Him out during our trials and tribulations so He can produce His fragrance in us and use our suffering to His glory.

In summary, the question is this: Does God see His own image reflected in you?

A teacher @ The Refiner's Fire