Title
The Refiner’s Furnace
Scripture
The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests the hearts.
(Proverbs 17:3)
Devotional
The purpose of a refining pot is to remove the impurities from the precious metals. These impurities, called dross, are defined as “waste products, worthless, commonplace, or trivial matter.” These are the things that are to be refined out of our hearts. Jesus said, “I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!”(1) John the Baptist said of Him, “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”(2) The convicting power of the Holy Spirit is the furnace of the heart. It is the Holy Spirit that tests the hearts of men by revealing what is in the heart. The prophet Jeremiah tells us, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.”(3) Therefore when our consciences warn us of our ways and our lives are void of peace, it may be because our hearts are being tested in the Refiner’s furnace.
(1) Luke 12:49, (2) Luke 3:16, (3) Jeremiah 17:9
Text For The Day
Proverbs 17:3: The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the hearts.
Thought For The Day
“When three are shut into a furnace and three become four, that is enlargement through pressure.” Watchman Nee
Questions To Ponder
-
Can God refine us without the heat of discipline?
-
If we are not receiving refinement, what does that indicate? See Proverbs 3:12.
-
Have you found yourself in the refiner’s furnace lately? Did you come out pure?
Morning Study Guide
Defining: “God can do what no crucible or furnace can do. They can test silver and gold but the Lord can test the human heart. In the process of testing, He removes the dross and purifies the life until He sees His own image reflected,” Believer’s Bible Commentary
When thro’ fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.
—George Keith
Referencing: “Some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purify them, and make them white, until the time of the end; because it is still for the appointed time,” Daniel 11:35.
Applying: When troubles and trials come your way, look for the gold and discard the dross.