Chapter 25 – My Daily Walk Through Proverbs

Scripture: “Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer.” – (25:4)

Observation: Our verse today speaks to the purification process for silver. It is heated until it becomes molten. In this state, the impurities will float to the surface and then be skimmed off by the refiner. This will leave the silver without contamination, ready to be used, poured into its final form.

Application: Becoming “fit for the Master’s use” is a process in the life of the Christian. Like silver, we have impurities in our lives that must be removed in order for God to effectively use us for His purposes. These refining processes take for form of trials and tests that He allows in our lives. No one wants these types of situations to occur, but it is through these challenges that God makes us fit for His use. Here are three reasons why God allows the purification process to happen in our lives.

1. Sin
   • Our sin is an impurity that Jesus dealt with at the cross. On Calvary, He bore the sins of the world upon Himself, suffering and dying to satisfy God’s requirement for the payment of sin that you and I could never pay. 3 days later, Jesus rose to become our living Saviour, ready to forgive all who call upon His name. Romans 10:13 states, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
   • It is important to realize that even after salvation, we still sin. Seeking forgiveness from Jesus is not just a one-time event in our lives; whenever we sin, we must go to Him, confess our sin and ask for His forgiveness (which He gives freely!). 1 John 1:9 reminds us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Remember, we are a work in progress (Philippians 1:6) and God’s purification process continually refines us until He call us to our heavenly home.
2. Faith
   • Our faith often needs strengthening, and this comes through testing. All through the Bible, we read of individuals who faced unimaginable testing, growing their faith. Imagine how Noah’s faith must have grown when he experienced God’s deliverance from the flood, or Daniel’s faith when he sat in the lions’ den and not one beast roared! These are just two examples of godly individuals whose faith was tested and came forth as pure silver!
   • Sometimes we experience challenging times as well. We may ask God why something is happening to us. The answer may be that God is using the situation as a time of strengthening your faith in Him. 1 Peter 1:7 states, “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:” It is during these times that our faith is able to grow stronger as it is purified through the hardships.
3. Dependence
   • Sometimes we go through trials to learn to rely on God rather than ourselves. It is easy to want to “take the reins” and control the situations in which we often find ourselves. The Bible reminds us in Psalm 118:8, “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man,” but sometimes we do the exact opposite. We turn to God only when our own resources have been depleted. That needs to be flipped! We need to run to Him first! When circumstances are overwhelming, God can use them to help us learn to depend upon Him rather than ourselves to meet our every need in every situation!
   • Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Who better to trust in than the One who created, sustains, and controls all things?

The saying “trust the process” means that we should be patient and persevere because refinement takes time and effort. In the life of a Christian, we need to “trust the Saviour” as Job did. He experienced events in which we cannot even fathom the depth of despair he must have felt. However, the Bible records his words of faith when he spoke of the Redeemer in Job 23:10, “But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.”

May we have the faith of Job when we face challenges and struggles that God uses to mold us into a vessel for His use!

Prayer: Dearest Lord Jesus, Your ways are so much higher than mine, and I praise You for Your wisdom and power. Thank You for continuing the work in me as You promised in Your Word. Thank You for even the hard times because I know You allowed them for a purpose as I know You will always be with me as I go through them. Give me the strength to trust You with my whole heart and to come forth as purified silver, ready to be used by You. In Your precious name, I pray. Amen.

Jesus, Thine all-victorious love shed in my heart abroad;
Then shall my feet no longer rove, rooted and fixed in God.

O that in me the sacred fire might now begin to glow;
Burn up the dross of base desire, and make the mountains flow!

Refining fire, go through my heart, illuminate my soul;
Scatter Thy life through ev'ry part, and sanctify the whole.

(from “Jesus, Thine All-Victorious Love” by Charles Wesley)

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“If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.” – 2 Timothy 2:21