Category: Uncategorized

Nothing can happen to us by chance, but only that which has passed through the filter of divine Providence. Both the good and the bad – all of it has been subject to God’s careful scrutiny and consideration. See the story of Job (Job 1:12) or Joseph (Genesis 50:20) or Jesus (Isaiah 53:10). Nothing has come into your life without His knowledge or provision. Nothing has surprised Him, evaded Him, or escaped His notice. He has made provision for every circumstance, even the ones that seemed to come at you out of nowhere. He has a plan for all of it.

What comfort, then, to know that the Lord does not enjoy hurting people (Lamentations 3:33). His purpose in whatever He allows is to accomplish His astounding plan for good. A plan so complex that only God could have come up with it. Only God could carry it out.

We see evidence of it in Eden, when the Lord God told the serpent, “From now on, you and the woman will be enemies, and your offspring and her offspring will be enemies. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15). And in the flood, when the Lord provided protection for His creation through the righteousness of one man, who believed God enough to build a giant boat in the middle of a desert (Genesis 6:9-22). Redemption, rescue and forgiveness run all throughout the Old Testament history, in spite of struggle, opposition, and outright rebellion. 

It leads directly to the manger, where the Son of God arrived covered in blood and dirt (Luke 2:7) for the express purpose of taking away the sins of the world (John 1:29). And it culminates at the Cross, where Christ Jesus the Righteous died. When He did, He took destruction and evil and injustice and brought something good out of it – our freedom.

When I look at my life, I can see the hand of God as well. The hardships haven’t been too hard for Him, and through them He’s led me to good places that I otherwise wouldn’t have gone. I still believe He has a plan and it’s a good one (Jeremiah 29:11; Romans 8:28). So whatever you’re facing, “don’t be afraid… for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. He will see to it that everything is finished correctly” (1 Chronicles 28:20).

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I love the hubbub and bustle in the kitchen. I love the gathering of friends and family and the laughing and the lingering around the table.

There’s one part that can be a little awkward. You might know the moment – everyone goes around the table and says what they’re thankful for. It’s tough to come up with something original when you’re at the end of the line. And then there are those times when you look back over the year and don’t feel particularly grateful for your circumstances.

There’s a line in Psalm 66 we read recently that you probably won’t hear anyone saying around the Thanksgiving table – “Praise the Lord, all peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard; he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver” (Psalm 66:8-10).

Praise the Lord… for you tested us. This doesn’t normally make the list of things for which we’re grateful. In part because we generally don’t think we need much refinement. We tend to think of ourselves as pretty much ok. Certainly not perfect, but not all that bad. So we aren’t particularly grateful when the Lord sets about removing impurities and weakness from us.

Even when we know something’s no good, we’re often hesitant to seek a change because we’re pretty sure that it’s going to hurt. When silver is refined, something hard and solid is softened and liquefied. Molecular bonds are broken. It’s not a gentle process. Transformation rarely is.

Take another look at our verse – the Lord’s goal in all this is to preserve our lives. It’s not senseless or random. It has a very specific purpose. So He “sits like a refiner of silver, watching closely as the dross is burned away” (Malachi 3:3). He doesn’t toss us into the fire and wish us luck. Instead He promises “I will be with you always” (Matthew 28:20). It’s God Himself who is doing the refining – He will not let it go on too long or go too far because “He is good [and] His faithful love endures forever” (Psalm 107:1).

It’s God’s love that lasts forever, not the refining process. Your circumstances will change. One day, His work in us will be finished (James 1:4). We will be able to say along with the psalmist, “We went through fire and flood. But you brought us to a place of great abundance” (Psalm 66:12).