Before the Gold

When we walk through seasons of sorrow or hardship, God is often doing His deepest work.

There are seasons when the Master Refiner places us back into the fire—not to harm us, but to remove what does not belong. The heat feels relentless. We grow weary. We plead for relief. Yet if He stopped too soon, we would remain incomplete.

“But He knows the way that I take; when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” (Job 23:10)

Hardship is not random. Disappointments, weakness, and heartache carry a holy purpose. The Refiner sees what we cannot—a finished vessel shaped for His glory. If gold could speak, it would cry out for the flames to cease. But removed too early, it would harden in an unfinished state.

So it is with us.

He knows our frailty. He knows our pain. And because He loves us, He continues His refining work—fashioning us into vessels of honor, fit for His use.

He is not finished yet.

If you are in the fire today, do not resist the hand that holds you there. Yield to Him. The Refiner never wastes a flame—and He never abandons the gold.

Trust the fire. The glory it produces will be worth every flame.

Prayer

Father, help me to remember the fire I walk through now has a Holy and Divine purpose in my life. Have Your way in me, Lord, so the world will see only a reflection of You. Amen.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

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© 2026 Jan Ross
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