"Surmounting difficulty is the crucible that forms character."
-Tony Robbins - Motivational Speaker
A CRUCIBLE - is a container that can withstand very high temperatures and is used to extract metal from its ore by a process involving heating and melting. The main purpose of the crucible was to keep the ore in an area where
the heat is concentrated to separate it from impurities before shaping. Figuratively, a CRUCIBLE is a severe test or trial in which different elements interact leading to the creation of something new. The Latin crucibulum or 'night lamp' is thought to originally be a lamp hanging in front of a crucifix. Sometimes life is like a crucible. We
are at once the clay pot withstanding tremendous heat, the ore with its
impurities, and the new vessel. The Apostle Peter admonished, "Dear friends, don't be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through,
as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very
glad--for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering,
so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world."
In the hymn, "Spirit of the Living God, fall fresh on me, we ask, "Make me, melt me, mold me, use me."
It's a beautiful chant lifted up by Believers crying out for
purification. Still, the heat of crucible experiences is painful. The LORD told rebellious and stubborn Israel, "Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction." (Isa. 48:10) The
Omniscient God searches our hearts and knows our thoughts. (Psalm 139)
When He decides we need to be refined, questions and vacillating
emotions arise. His purpose is to improve us by making subtle changes. Job anchored himself in hope and trust when his faith and commitment to the LORD were being proven, "But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I will come forth as gold." (Job 23:10) When gold is refined, the heat causes impurities to rise to the top and they are skimmed off.
The process is repeated again and again to increase the quality and
purity of the gold. The longer it is heated, the higher the karat: 10,
14, 18... 24 karat is considered pure gold. So it is
with us. God sometimes allows repeated trials to subtly refine us in
order to maximize character for our good and blessing and for His glory.
"For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried. You brought us into the net; you laid a crushing burden on our backs; you let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance." (Psalm 68:8-10) Glory to God!
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