Pursuing Him Still

As we quickly approach the end of another year I quietly reflect on the last 12 months. I take a survey of where I started and where I am today. I look for only one thing found in a single question…

Is there less of me and more of Him?

The answer is yes. And I am so grateful for that. Do I wish I was further along? Yes. As long as there is sin in my life I will wish there wasn’t. But I accept that I am a work in progress. A flesh to be reckoned with.

You may have heard this story about the silversmith, but it so wonderfully explains what God is up to that I had to share…

Some people studying Malachi 3:3 which says: “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.”

This verse puzzled some in the 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 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.”

I love this story. The idea that God is at work, refining me by the fire and never leaving my side until He clearly sees himself in me is so mysterious and wonderful. I marvel at His awesome love for His creation.

Last year at this time I wrote on Philippians 3:14…

“But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

And a year later that scripture continues to express my hopes for the new year. I am not big on a list of New Year’s resolutions. Oh, I could make a list…

take better care of myself,

be a better homeschool mom,

a better wife,

a better manager of my time

But, those things mean nothing because they are what I want for myself and if I am just set on pursuing hard after Him all that He has for me, and likely some of those things on my list, will come to fruition anyway.

So, I welcome the fire. The refinement. The love that He has for me as I pursue Him still.

How about you? What has God put on your heart for the new year ahead?

*This post was written in response to WFW at Internet Cafe Devotions